'Sighted' wheelchair taken for first successful test drive
The first public test run was undertaken by student Daniel Innala Ahlmark - who is himself visually-impaired - along one of the busy corridors of the Lulea University of Technology's Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering Department
The introduction of the white cane early in the last century gave blind and visually-impaired users a mobility tool that not only helped them to get around, but also allowed them to be seen by others. Now researchers from Sweden's Luleå University of Technology – the same place that designed the autonomous wheelchair – have developed and publicly tested a system which could potentially give wheelchair-bound blind people a virtual white stick to help them detect and avoid obstacles. An electric wheelchair has been fitted with a navigational laser scanner which provides virtual 3D maps of the surroundings, and sends feedback about any obstructions to the user via a haptic interface.
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