Robot Guide Dog Picks Up Where Man's Best Friend Left Off
From: Newswise - 03/25/2005

Visually impaired people could find their way in places where guide dogs are
of little use with the help of the Robotic Guide developed by Utah State
University computer science professor Vladimir Kulyukin and his team of grad
students. The device marries radio frequency technology with a mobile base to
help users get around airports and other environments unfamiliar to guide
dogs. The user selects a target location from a Braille directory, while the
guide gives directions and additional information en route, zeroing in on
radio frequency identification tags deployed throughout its surroundings to
localize itself. Upon reaching the target destination - a grocery store, for
example - the robot can relay detailed information about specified objects,
such as where to find items the user needs to buy. Kulyukin and his team have
spent the past two years refining the Robot Guide, and they envision robotic
smart carts in airport terminals as well as robotic shopping carts in grocery
stores. The professor plans to keep developing the robot in order to
guarantee its availability to consumers, and his team is also devising a
wearable navigation system to help visually impaired users get around in
outdoor environments. "I have always been interested in assistive technology
and wanted to build something that actually makes a difference," Kulyukin
comments. "This is practical stuff and works well at enhancing human life."  

http://www.newswise.com/p/articles/view/510688/

Links:
RFID-Equipped Robots Used as Guide Dogs
http://www.primidi.com/2005/01/29.html

Utah State University - Center for Persons with Disabilities
http://www.cpd.usu.edu/

Professor helps create space-age guide dogs
http://www.utahstatesman.com/news/2005/01/26/Features/Professor.Helps.Create.SpaceAge.Guide.Dogs-841849.shtml

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Robot Guide Dog Picks Up Where Mans Best Friend Leaves Off
From: Utah State University News Releases - 03/25/2005
By: Whitney Wilkinson

A new, one-of-a-kind robot uses the latest technology to help the visually
impaired find their way when traditional guide dogs can't. Developed at Utah
State University, the Robotic Guide is a combination of high-tech computer
parts and a mobile base that assists the visually impaired in busy areas such
as grocery stores, malls, and airports. 

The robot uses a sensor that hones in on radio frequency identification
(RFID) tags. The tags, which can be placed discretely in any indoor
environment, localize the robot. The user simply reads a Braille directory
and selects a target location. The robot, in turn, tells the user where to go
relaying information along the way. 

Once the user reaches the target destination the robot is capable of giving
detailed information about specified products, such as where to find the
toothpaste on a grocery store shelf. The robot is not intended to replace the
guide dog, it merely enhances what a seeing-eye dog can provide. 

Read the entire story at:
http://www.usu.edu/ust/index.cfm?ArticleID=2847

Links:
Assisted Navigation in Dynamic and Complex Environments
http://kulyukin2k.cs.usu.edu:8001/vkweb/research/sandee.html

Vladimir Kulyukin
http://kulyukin2k.cs.usu.edu:8001/

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Team's vision: robotic carts to aid blind shoppers
From: EE Times - 04/04/2005 - page 26
By: R. Colin Johnson

Robotic carts may soon be available to assist the visually impaired in stores
and other public venues, such as airports, by reading RF identification tags
to guide users to products or service counters. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=160400531

Links:
Robotic Carts May Soon Be Available To Aid The Blind
http://www.techweb.com/wire/networking/160403825

Robotic carts to aid the blind
http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNCID=36&CIaNID=18417

USU's seeing-eye robot a guide with no wet nose
http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2627649

RFID-enabled robots could lead the blind
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000477029688

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Robot Lends 'a Seeing Eye' for Blind Shoppers
From: USA Today - 07/11/2005 - P. 7D
By: Ashley Burrell

Using a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Utah State
University computer science professor Vladimir Kulyukin and visually impaired
colleague Sachin Pavithran have built a prototype Robotic Guide (RG), a
device designed to help blind people gain some measure of autonomy by helping
them navigate through grocery store aisles, malls, and other places. The RG
consists of an off-the-shelf motorized base with rechargeable batteries and a
microcontroller that allows the unit to take directions from an attached
laptop equipped with a speech synthesis engine; a Braille store directory and
numeric keypad so the user can tell the guide what items to search for; and a
shopping basket with a handle that the user can hold onto. A laser range
finder is used to maneuver around objects, while a radio frequency
identification (RFID) antenna finds items by communicating with RFID tags on
store shelves. "When the robot reaches a destination--say, the Cheerios
cereal shelf in the cereal aisle--the speech-synthesis engine generates an
appropriate message telling the user that the Cheerios cereal boxes are on
the shelf to his/her right," says Kulyukin. However, the product is not
without shortcomings: Users must be familiar with Braille to employ the
device, which also cannot access individual items. The developers are
attempting to solve the first problem with a speech interface, and the second
with the addition of a bar code reader. Although Paul Schroeder with the
American Foundation for the Blind finds much to admire in the project, he
warns that technology's potential is not always realized in real life.
Kulyukin admits that the RG is not ready for commercialization or mass
production. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2005-07-11-robot-guide_x.htm

