It's not easy crossing a busy street
and for people with visual impairments the task can be even more daunting
It was this scenario that UALR professor Cang Ye laid witness to that inspired the creation
of two computer enhanced walking canes
I saw a visually impaired student crossing the street to UALR
and I was sort of shocked by that, he was using a white cane as his only mobility tool
For years Dr. Ye had been working on navigational systems for small robots and realized in that
moment how the same technology can help the visually impaired
Immediately I realized that the method that we are developing actually can be used to
help him travel more efficiently
People with visual impairments currently get around with traditional walking sticks known
as white canes
Two different canes are currently in development in Dr. Ye's lab, the smart cane design and
the robot cane
The smart cane, equipped with a 3D camera, tablet computer, a battery, headset, and a
rolling tip on the end transforms a white cane into a digital mobility device
The camera detects objects in the user's path, such as stairways and chairs, as well as information
about what's around the user.
The smart cane then gives commands through text to speech audio through the system's
headset
turn left now, go straight
The cane is intended to enhance the function of a white cane, not try to replace that.
The user still controls everything
The second device, the robot cane, is similar to the smart cane but adds some functionality
to the unit.
Using a small motor, the roller tip of the robot cane can turn into a wheel and drive
the device, letting the blind traveler simply follow the cane's direction.
The robot cane also sends information to a server system for additional data processing.
Both canes are still in their prototype phases.
UALR Department of Systems Engineering student He Zhang joined Dr. Ye's lab in 2014 and has
worked on the navigational algorithm for the canes
In the near future, the thing I'm working on is to really make the whole system work
very robustly, and to make the whole system work well
Similar electronic walking canes exist using GPS and infrared technology.
The 3D cameras on Dr. Ye's device captures much more detail about the user's environment
than infrared imagery.
The cameras create spatial maps similar to GPS systems, but indoors where GPS cannot
work
Right now this cane is developed for indoor navigation.
For outdoor case, you can use GPS to guide the people, but for indoor you don't have
GPS signal
Dr. Ye and his lab team have been receiving media attention for the cane, with articles
published by the National Science Foundation and in publications like Popular Science.
They've also demonstrated the canes at the Congressional Robotics Caucus event in Washington
D.C.
We hope that the robot cane, the technology, will one day bring revolutionary change to
the day to day travel of the visually impaired and will improve their quality of life.