Robot wheelchair aims for easier disabled life
May 29, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
IN the future, people with movement problems may have a brand-new intelligent wheelchair. They can sit on it and give orders, and it'll take them to a destination accurately and automatically.
The device is actually a new robot designed by the researchers of the Automation Department at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
The new robot wheelchair is on display in the Life & Sunshine Pavilion at World Expo 2010, promising a bright future for disabled people. Compared with common wheelchairs, this intelligent wheelchair has three new organs: "brain," "eyes" and "ears," which are the computer system, the camera and laser detector and microphone.
Before using it, you need to take this new friend around for it to get familiar with its working environment.
You tell it things like: "Here's the corridor" or "turn left and there's the toilet."
When it follows you, it's drawing a map in its "brain" at the same time.
After that, you can give it orders, like saying "toilet" to the microphone. The chair responds: "Do you want to go to toilet?" When getting the affirmative response from the user, it answers: "Roger, please sit back."
Then the wheelchair sets off. The computer system deals with the information collected, automatically selects the best route and goes along the corridor, turning according to sight views from the camera and detector on the chair. Soon, it stops in front of the toilet.
"To make it intelligent, many high technologies have to be planted to support it," says Professor Chen Weilong, leader of the intelligent wheelchair research group at Jiao Tong University.
The interaction technology between the machine and the user is one of the key technologies of the wheelchair. Through the camera, it should be able to recognize sign language; through the microphone, it should be able to understand the user's orders, even in a noisy environment.
The accurate orientation and movement control are also very important. It should memorize various environment marks in a wide range, figure out a map, and make out the most convenient route to get to the destination.
At the same time, it should also have some quick response ability along the way for when there's someone or something happening to block its route.
"It's endless research to make our robot more stable and accurate," says Chen.
By now, it has already taken the research group over three years to develop this wheelchair. Now its cost of manufacture is equal almost to a common household car.
In the future, the research group will stress putting mechanical arms on the wheelchair to help disabled people with some simple movements like picking up items or opening a door.
With the continuous development and perfection of high-technology in future society, disabled people and aged people will eventually enjoy a fuller technologically intelligent and convenient life.
The device is actually a new robot designed by the researchers of the Automation Department at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
The new robot wheelchair is on display in the Life & Sunshine Pavilion at World Expo 2010, promising a bright future for disabled people. Compared with common wheelchairs, this intelligent wheelchair has three new organs: "brain," "eyes" and "ears," which are the computer system, the camera and laser detector and microphone.
Before using it, you need to take this new friend around for it to get familiar with its working environment.
You tell it things like: "Here's the corridor" or "turn left and there's the toilet."
When it follows you, it's drawing a map in its "brain" at the same time.
After that, you can give it orders, like saying "toilet" to the microphone. The chair responds: "Do you want to go to toilet?" When getting the affirmative response from the user, it answers: "Roger, please sit back."
Then the wheelchair sets off. The computer system deals with the information collected, automatically selects the best route and goes along the corridor, turning according to sight views from the camera and detector on the chair. Soon, it stops in front of the toilet.
"To make it intelligent, many high technologies have to be planted to support it," says Professor Chen Weilong, leader of the intelligent wheelchair research group at Jiao Tong University.
The interaction technology between the machine and the user is one of the key technologies of the wheelchair. Through the camera, it should be able to recognize sign language; through the microphone, it should be able to understand the user's orders, even in a noisy environment.
The accurate orientation and movement control are also very important. It should memorize various environment marks in a wide range, figure out a map, and make out the most convenient route to get to the destination.
At the same time, it should also have some quick response ability along the way for when there's someone or something happening to block its route.
"It's endless research to make our robot more stable and accurate," says Chen.
By now, it has already taken the research group over three years to develop this wheelchair. Now its cost of manufacture is equal almost to a common household car.
In the future, the research group will stress putting mechanical arms on the wheelchair to help disabled people with some simple movements like picking up items or opening a door.
With the continuous development and perfection of high-technology in future society, disabled people and aged people will eventually enjoy a fuller technologically intelligent and convenient life.
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