Communications of the ACM
Successful First Test Drive of "sighted" Wheelchair
Prospective Ph.D.student Daniel Innala Ahlmark tests the "sighted" weelchair before a large press corps.
Lule University of Technology
Lulea University of Technology researchers led by Lulea professor Kalevi Hyyppa have developed an electric wheelchair that can detect the surrounding environment and transmit the information to a visually impaired user.
The wheelchair is equipped with a joystick for steering and a haptic robot that acts as a virtual white cane. A laser scanner produces a three-dimensional (3D) map, which is transferred to the haptic robot so that the visually impaired user can feel nearby obstacles.
"This may be [an] important aid for the visually impaired who are wheelchair users," Hyyppa says. "Many have already been in touch with me and asked if they can come for a test drive."
However, the wheelchair can be improved, he says. The laser scanner can only see objects at a specific height, and the researchers are working to develop a 3D camera that can produce a full 3D measurement.
The researchers estimate that they can produce a wheelchair ready for manufacturing in about five years.
From Lulea University of Technology
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