Information Technology Reference
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detect markers on the ceiling, allowing localization; 2) acoustic rangefinder sensors for
obstacle detection; 3) a 6-channel force-torque sensor mounted on the cane shaft, to
measure the user's interaction with the cane itself. The SmartCane mobility-control
system allowed direct user control on path and speed as well as system-driven path
following, with the possibility for the user to adjust the speed and/or the path itself.
The SmartWalker (Spenko, 2006) was developed to meet the needs of users who
require the support of a walker, and it used several of the same features as the
SmartCane; additional features included longer power autonomy, added physical
support, health monitoring capabilities (activity levels in terms of speed and applied
forces, and ECG-based pulse monitor), and omnidirectional movement by means of a
couple of active split offset castors (ASOC).
The MOVEMENT system (Modular Versatile Mobility Enhancement System)
(Huntemann, 2007) (Mayer, 2007) was developed by a consortium of European
research and industrial partners in the framework of an EU-funded project to address
the mobility needs of impaired individuals in a number of ways, ranging from a larger
group of users who do not need or want to use a wheelchair permanently, but could
benefit from motorization in various mobility-related activities, to a smaller group of
much more severely disabled users, who normally would not be able to control existing
powered wheelchairs (e.g. because of spasm or other multiple impairments). The
MOVEMENT system core was formed by an intelligent mobile (robotic) platform,
which could dock itself to a user-definable set of application modules (e.g. a simple
chair or a multifunctional chair for severely disabled users, a device actively supporting
deambulation and postural transitions, an information terminal or a simple height-
adjustable table).
Related to mobility, going shopping is a sign of independence and is a way of
communicating with other people and of socializing. For this reason, it is important to
support people who find difficulties in moving around for a long time, standing up for a
long time or in carrying loads for a long time, carrying out the shopping autonomously.
Technological solutions can support such users in shopping task, helping them to reach
the shops and to move inside them.
A possible solution is a smart shopping trolley. This is a motorized trolley with a
seat. It should be designed as being able to recognize its user and to follow him or her
without needing to be pushed. Furthermore, when the subject feels tired, he or she can
sit down on the device and the system will move him or her to the part of the shop that
the user has selected on the maps shown on the interface. Because the system knows
the map of the shop and its location in the environment, it is able to plan its way to
reach the desired point and move autonomously to it, avoiding obstacles, because of its
in-built sensors.
Robotic support to in-home mobility has the following challenges:
reliable map-based navigation with obstacle-avoidance capability;
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intention-estimation based selection of destinations;
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features of sitting mobility (wheelchair), support to postural transitions and
walking (combined lifter/walker);
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modularity: moving user to places and objects to user with one mobile base.
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Sensory impairments.
Sensory impairments, e.g. of eye and ear, can have a high
impact on the communication abilities of persons especially if the impairments start at
