Intelligent Wheelchairs Will Navigate on Their Own
From: Asian News International - 12/30/2009

A smart wheelchair developed at Lehigh University will be different from
previous intelligent models in that the technology will cross-reference the
maps it makes of its surroundings, using a light detection and ranging
(LiDAR) system and other sensors, with three-dimensional (3D) maps loaded
into its memory. The Lehigh team is developing the 3D maps. The smart
wheelchair will be able to detect and avoid stationary objects such as trees,
poles, parking meters, and corners. The Lehigh team also plans to develop
software that will enable the chair to predict the location of moving
obstacles such as pedestrians and cars, and avoid them. Lehigh professor John
Spletzer says the team wants to take wheelchair autonomy to another level.
"It will not be limited to structured indoor environments," he says.
"Instead, it investigates the much more difficult problem of autonomous
operations in unstructured environments outdoors."  

Read the entire article at:
http://www.medindia.net/news/Intelligent-Wheelchairs-Will-Navigate-on-Their-Own-62882-1.htm

Links:
John R. Spletzer
http://www.cse.lehigh.edu/~spletzer/

Towards Autonomous Wheelchair Systems in Urban Environments
http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0844585