Self-Driving Wheelchairs Debut in Hospitals and Airports
From: IEEE Spectrum - 08/17/2017
By: Megan Scudellari

Autonomous vehicles can add a new member to their ranks - the self-driving
wheelchair. This summer, two robotic wheelchairs made headlines: one at a
Singaporean hospital and another at a Japanese airport.

The Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, or SMART, developed
the former, first deployed in Singapore’s Changi General Hospital in
September 2016, where it successfully navigated the hospital's hallways. It
is the latest in a string of autonomous vehicles made by SMART, including a
golf cart, electric taxi and, most recently, a scooter that zipped more than
100 MIT visitors around on tours in 2016.

The robot’s computer uses data from three lidars to make a map. A
localization algorithm then determines where it is in the map. The chair's
six wheels lend stability, and the chair is designed to make tight turns and
fit through normal-sized doorframes.

Read the entire article and view video (3:02 & 2:28) at:
http://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/selfdriving-wheelchairs-debut-in-hospitals-and-airports

Links:
Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology
https://smart.mit.edu

Daniela Rus
https://www.csail.mit.edu/user/876

Public Testing of Information Universal Design begins at Haneda Airport
http://news.panasonic.com/global/press/data/2017/08/en170808-6/en170808-6.html

Driverless-vehicle options now include scooters
http://news.mit.edu/2016/driverless-scooters-1107

Will the Whill Hi-Tech Wheelchair Sell?
http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/bionics/will-the-whill-hitech-wheelchair-sell

Lidar-Equipped Autonomous Wheelchairs Roll Out in Singapore and Japan
https://spectrum.ieee.org/transportation/self-driving/lidar-equipped-autonomous-wheelchairs-roll-out-in-singapore-and-japan

Not related:
Panasonic Autonomous Delivery Robots - HOSPI - Aid Hospital Operations at
  Changi General Hospital
http://news.panasonic.com/global/topics/2015/44009.html