Augmented Smart Cane Helps Navigate the World
Researchers at Stanford University are prototyping a smart cane to help those with visual impairments navigate through the world. This new, augmented cane is appareled with GPS and LIDAR sensors, similar to those found in self-driving cars.
“We wanted something more user-friendly than just a white cane with sensors,” says Patrick Slade, a graduate research assistant in the Stanford Intelligent Systems Laboratory . “Something that cannot only tell you there’s an object in your way, but tell you what that object is and then help you navigate around it.”
Transcript
00:00:02 - The goal is to help improve the ability of people with visual impairments to navigate and steer around obstacles, making everyday life easier. - We've developed a device which extends the abilities of the white cane by adding sensors, to help perceive the environment, and then relay that information to the user. - The standard cane is basically a stick. I mean, it really is a stick.
00:00:26 The most recent innovation that I know of is that some of them fold like this one does. But Patrick's new cane, there are sensors that detect obstacles in the user's environment. So as I'm walking, it'll detect that there's, let's say, a lamppost or a corner or a trash can, or something that I'm about to bump into. And it'll sort of nudge me away from it as I start to approach it.
00:00:50 - We have a LiDAR which measures distance to the object around the person. We have GPS, which measures the position in the outdoor setting. We have an initial measurement unit, which allows us to measure the position and orientation of the person. And then we have a camera, which allows us to understand images of where they are, and so we can define key objects.
00:01:10 - [Arjun] The wheel essentially kind of pulls the user left or right. So if the system says, okay, the user needs to navigate to the right, they need to turn right, the wheel will start spinning to the right and you'll feel it as if someone's pulling you in that direction. - For sighted individuals, after about five minutes of training,
00:01:28 they found a 38% improvement in terms of walking speed. For much more experienced users or visually impaired individuals, they found an 18% improvement in terms of walking speed. And this can provide a significant improvement in terms of their quality of life due to improved mobility. - This project leverages sensors developed for autonomous vehicles and also AI and algorithms developed for a safe vehicle driving.
00:01:59 - [Mykel] And it's really neat to be able to see ideas from this industry percolate to other domains, including the creation of this walking cane. - We published it open source so that other people can build the system and make it available. I think it has the potential to make people's lives a lot easier. - I see the new improved cane as a really nice step forward. I think it could be a much improved experience, especially for navigating environments
00:02:27 that I'm less familiar with. It would be really helpful.