Wheelchairs That Listen
From: Boston Globe - 04/26/2010
By: Karen Weintraub

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers are developing a
voice-operated robotic wheelchair for people with neurological disorders. MIT
professor Nicholas Roy is leading the project with MIT professor Seth Teller
and residents of the Boston Home outpatient facility. "Assistive technology
tends to have a relatively high rate of abandonment," Roy says, because they
are often designed without input from users. However, Boston Home residents
are helping the researchers develop the wheelchair to meet their needs. The
wheelchair is designed with a tracker, to help the staff locate the
residents, as well as helping the residents find friends. The chair also has
a built-in monitor that displays the Boston Home's daily schedule, so
residents will know the time of their next social event, outing, or
relaxation session. "They can know more about the environment--weather,
scheduled events, menus--and exploit that knowledge to make more meaningful
choices about how they wish to spend their time," Teller says. The prototype
also can create a mental map of an area after one guided tour using
distinguishable landmarks. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2010/04/26/wheelchairs_that_listen/

Links:
Nicholas Roy
http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/people/roy.html
http://www.csail.mit.edu/user/902

Robust Robotics Group Research
http://groups.csail.mit.edu/rrg/research.html