These Autonomous Wheelchairs Are the Future of Mobility

The same autonomy package that we now have

on city cars can be applied to a suite

of other vehicles and in particular,

can be applied to wheelchairs.

The interest came out of a visit

to a retirement community where I realized that

people had extraordinary limits

on what they could do because there weren't

enough nurses and staff to help them get

from one place to another.

I see the technology as impacting

anybody who is confined in their motions,

so I see it applied in hospitals, in retirement communities,

in assisted living communities.

So the personal mobility device operates

sort of like a self driving vehicle.

Now the overall autonomy package has two phases.

In the first phase, the vehicle drives through

the closed space where it has to operate

and it makes a map.

The system uses the map to plan a path

and then it executes that path with a user in the vehicle.

And executing that path means, also being able to

avoid new obstacles that are moving,

for instance, pedestrians or other vehicles.

The hardware suite we use consists of one laser scanner

at the top and two at the bottom, so these laser scanners

are able to detect features of the world.

They're also able to detect moving obstacles.

This autonomy technology can be used to deliver goods

and people, so for instance you can send your self driving

vehicle to pick up your lunch for you,

or you can send the vehicle to

collect your grocery shopping.

From an engineering point of view,

I want to make machines that are

increasingly more capable.

I really want to help develop the future of robots.