A team of engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder are using artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a ‘smart’ walking stick for the blind or visually impaired.
According to the team, the smart walking stick could eventually help blind people navigate various tasks, such as shopping at the grocery store or finding a place to sit.
How does the Smart Walking Stick work?
The walking stick resembles a cane, but it is a bit different. For one, it has a camera and uses computer vision technology, helping it map and catalog its environment. It can then guide users by using vibrations in the handle and with spoken directions.
What was involved in the experimental Cafe study?
To better understand the decision-making needs of people with blindness or impaired vision, the researchers created an experimental cafe in their lab. Examining how a smart walking stick could be used to facilitate navigation amid obstacles and furniture, patrons were asked to traverse the maze-like environment and update on their experience.
Subjects equipped with a laptop-laden backpack and state-of-the art walking stick scanned the room using an attached camera. Advanced algorithms inside their laptops assessed features within the environment, then mapped out the optimal route to select seating, much like automated vehicle navigation systems.
The study demonstrated successful and encouraging outcomes, revealing that experimental subjects were able to locate a chair with accurate precision on 10 occasions out of 12 trials. The test participants had their eyesight obscured for the duration of the experiment. The team is now aiming to build upon their findings by engaging individuals who have diminished vision or blindness.
What was involved in the experimental grocery store study?
In their lab, the team engineered a lifelike grocery shelf stocked with different brands of cereal. They produced an expansive database of product photos to feed into dedicated software, allowing study subjects to scan and select products using only a walking stick.
It assigns a score to the objects present, selecting what is the most likely product. Then the system issues commands like ‘move a little bit to your left.’
When will the walking stick be available?
The team says that it will still be a while before the walking stick is used in the real world. The team wants to first make it more compact, designing it in a way that works with a standard smartphone attached to the cane.
The research was published in IEEE.
