The Robotic Wheelchair is an advanced autonomous machine that relies on pre-registered location information to wheel a user around. Unlike the joystick-controlled automated wheelchairs that we see today, the MIT machine takes vocal commands from the user and follows them accurately. For instance, when a user requests to be taken to “his bedroom,” the wheelchair does so without any additional input.
What’s Innovative: The Robotic Wheelchair offers a high degree of customization to suit the user’s unique voice characteristics and the environment. Additionally, it programs itself like how humans remember directions and locations. A built-in Wi-Fi system enables the wheelchair’s location map, which is then stored onto its memory.
Watch This: Technology has always been progressive. The Robotic Wheelchair is a significant development in the design of autonomous robots that make our lives easier. The vocal command navigation abilities of this wheelchair opens up avenues to a promising future.
Designers: MIT researchers Nicholas Roy and Seth Teller
