The researchers said the walking stick could one day help blind people carry out tasks from shopping for a box of cereal at the grocery store to picking a private place to sit in a crowded cafeteria.
The white-and-red walking stick includes a camera and computer vision technology to help it map and catalogue the world around it. It then guides users by using vibrations in the handle and with spoken directions, such as “reach a little bit to your right”.
“AI and computer vision are improving, and people are using them to build self-driving cars and similar inventions,” said doctoral student Shivendra Agrawal. “But these technologies also have the potential to improve quality of life for many people.
“Imagine you’re in a café,” he added. “You don’t want to sit just anywhere. You usually take a seat close to the walls to preserve your privacy, and you usually don’t like to sit face-to-face with a stranger.”
Previous research has suggested that making these...