The original concept for the UltraCane was developed at a leading UK university. The developers were adamant that vision impaired people were to be involved at every stage of the development process. In the earliest days of the development, a team of 20 vision impaired volunteers came to help and provide input. They told the developers exactly what they wanted from the UltraCane, and the developers worked hard to incorporate their ideas into the product.

In 2002, vision impaired people from Canada, America, Germany and the UK tested the UltraCane over periods of between one and three months.  Gradually, thanks to the input from many trial volunteers around the world, the UltraCane evolved into a lightweight, attractive design that greatly enhanced the mobility of its vision impaired users.

In 2011, Sound Foresight Technology Ltd, a company based in Yorkshire, took over development and evolution of the UltraCane with a view to improving both its performance and ruggedness whilst keeping the innovative design concept and intuitive operation of the original product. This new, much improved UltraCane is now available to customers around the world.