Robotic 'smart' cane helps visually impaired people avoid obstacles with autonomous car technology

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a robotic'smart' cane that guides people with visual impairments using technology originated for autonomous vehicles. Most sensor canes use ultrasound to notify a user that there's some object directly in front of or above them. But the team at Stanford's Intelligent Systems Laboratory equipped their augmented cane with a LIDAR sensor, a laser-based technology used in some self-driving cars to measure the distance of nearby obstacles. The cane also incorporates smartphone-style GPS, accelerometers, magnetometers, and gyroscopes to monitor a user's position, orientation, speed and direction. A motorized, omnidirectional wheel on the bottom tip maintains contact with the ground and gently tugs and nudges users around impediments.