Scientists and engineers strive with each passing day to provide platforms to the disabled that would benefit them, and would thus technologically aid them to interact with better mobility and freedom. When it comes to mobility, the wheelchair is the first assistive idea that strikes the mind, and that is what Spletzer, an associate professor of computer science and engineering, is working on, and it is nothing like the other robotic wheelchairs we have seen in the past.
Yes, we have seen a wheelchair that moves with the flick of a tongue, one that doubles as scooter or one that is thought controlled, but this - this is a robotic wheelchair that navigates on its own through a crowded place, without human guidance or remote control that is. The “smart” wheelchair does this with the help of the high-fidelity lasers and detailed 3-D maps it is equipped with. Taking a cue from Google Street View, the way it accumulates images and maps for human viewing, Spletzer and his team of student is developing similar maps that are useful for robots, using which robots with lasers can recognize things like poles, trees, faces and building corners and thus track them in course of movement. For the same, the smart wheelchair is equipped with low cost LIDAR (an acronym for light detection and ranging) laser, which has been field tested to help the wheelchair manage a kilometer route and arrive back at its destination to within accuracy of 20 centimeters.
Explaining his vision for the project, Spletzer says:
Our goal is to extend the autonomy of the wheelchair so it can navigate completely in an urban setting and take you wherever you need to go. We want to provide a solution for people like this that doesn’t require them to interact with their environment. We want them to just be able to say to their wheelchair, ‘Take me to the drug store’ or ‘Take me to the doctor.’
Via: Physorg
