SmartWheeler – A smart robotic wheelchair platform

This demo features an interactive autonomous wheelchair robot, called the SmartWheeler, designed with the aim of increasing the autonomy and safety of individuals with severe mobility impairments. The robot platform consists of a commercial power wheelchair, modified to be controlled by an on-board computer. It is further equipped with laser range finders and a Kinect sensor used for sensing the environment and building a map. The wheelchair can be given high-level commands (e.g. setting a location goal on a map), or lower-level commands (e.g. move forward, turn left/right, etc.) via a touchscreen interface. The commands are then interpreted and executed autonomously and safely by the robot, by taking into account static and dynamic obstacles in the environment. Several of the robot's software components rely on machine learning methods. One of the most recent developments is a new algorithm for detecting, tracking and following one or multiple people in real time using planar laser scans acquired onboard the robot.