Engineers from the University of Colorado Boulder use progress in artificial intelligence to develop A new type of chick for the blind and the visually impaired. Scientists say that their “intelligent” stick walking once will help blind people move and easier to achieve shopping: from grocery shopping to choosing a place in a crowded cafe.
The band's walking chick resembles an ordinary red -white cane, but it also has several additions: using camera technology and a computer vision, a stick maps and a catalog of the world around it. Then he runs users using vibration in the handle and spoken directions, such as “a little on the right”.
According to programmers of the “intelligent” walking stick: “AI and computer vision improve, and people use them to build self -propelled cars and similar inventions, but these technologies can also improve the quality of life of many people.”
First of all, the research team examined the potential of technology using a “intelligent” cane to lead the user in a crowded place and help find an empty place, for example in a cafe.
The respondents tied to a backpack with a laptop and raised an intelligent stick. They moved to examine the room with the camera attached to the cane handle. Like an independent car, algorithms running inside the laptop identified various objects in the room, and then calculated the route to the perfect seat. The study showed promising results: the study participants were able to find an empty chair in 10 out of 12 trials of different levels of difficulty.
Then scientists adapted their device to other use. The new goal was to help in blind or visually impaired people to find and capture products on store shelves with dozens similar and similar to previously elections. They created a database of product photos in their software. Then the study participants used the stick to scan the shelf, looking for the desired product.
It will take some time before the “intelligent” walking chick woven into the hands of real users. But scientists also hope that their preliminary results will inspire other engineers to think about what robotics and AI are capable of.
