West Australian researchers are developing a new gadget for blind people they hope will be the greatest innovation in the field since the white cane.

Once developed, the gadget would allow visually-impaired people to sense their entire indoor surroundings, "beyond the cane's tip," according to the Curtin University's Project leader Iain Murray.

Multi-sensor array technology detects obstacles inside the room and then alert the user through a smartphone app. Credit:Curtin University

This would be facilitated by special multi-sensor array technology to detect obstacles inside the room and then alert the user through an app, while providing directions to navigate it.

"It works sort of like a GPS does," Dr Murray said.