Intelligent Walker Designed to Assist the Elderly and People Undergoing Medical Rehabilitation
By ScienceDaily,Publication Date: November 10, 2008
Article describes assistive-technology devices in development as part of a European project, Supported Human Autonomy for Recovery and Enhancement of Cognitive and Motor Abilities Using Information Technologies (SHARE-it). The project objective is to contribute to developing a new generation of intelligent and semiautonomous welfare technology systems that can be integrated into homes and other places such as hospitals and geriatric institutions. The i-Walker is an intelligent walker that can understand a set of voice commands and can be activated by means of simple verbal instructions such as “take me to the kitchen.” The i-Walker can be used for medical rehabilitation as the amount of aid provided to the user can be adjusted under medical supervision. Parameters such as the effort made by the user in walking and the distance travelled are recorded and measured by the walker. The system uses an accelerometer to detect possible falls, correct itineraries and turning angles, and control braking. Other SHARE-it devices mentioned are a semiautonomous wheelchair, Roland III, which is capable of operating both indoors and outdoors, and Spherik, a semiautomatic platform based on a type of spherical wheel designed for movement in small spaces. The three mobile systems can detect the position of the patient in the home and in hospitals and primary-care centers as they include a special monitoring system.
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Link to text: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081107072015.htm
