Robots Helping the Blind

Researchers Employ Baxter Robot to Help the Blind

Robots could help the visually impaired do things like determine which bus pass to use.

Mark Harris | September 1, 2015

Many people with visual impairments find seeing-eye dogs invaluable for avoiding obstacles and negotiating traffic. But even the smartest guide dog can’t distinguish between similar banknotes, read a bus timetable, or give directions. Now robotics researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are developing assistive robots to help blind travelers navigate the modern world.

Meet your future boss: The Baxter robot was designed to work alongside real people. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/03/10/general/will-robots-end-up-creating-jobs-or-end-them/#.VecLZ_lVhBc

“Part of our job is to invent the future,” says M. Bernardine Dias, a professor in the university’s Robotics Institute. “We envision robots being part of society in smart cities and want to make sure that people with visual impairment and other disabilities aren’t left out of that future.”

<more at http://www.technologyreview.com/news/540961/researchers-employ-baxter-robot-to-help-the-blind/; http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/03/10/general/will-robots-end-up-creating-jobs-or-end-them/#.VecLZ_lVhB (Will robots end up creating jobs or end them? March 10, 2013) and http://www.rethinkrobotics.com/baxter/ (Rethink Robotics. Baxter with Intera 3. Workforce Multiplier. ["For decades, manufacturers have had very few cost-effective options for handling low volume, high mix production jobs.  No longer.  Meet Baxter – the safe, flexible, affordable alternative to outsourced labor and fixed automation.  Leading companies across North America have already integrated Baxter into their workforce, and gained a competitive advantage for their business in the process. Baxter is a proven solution for a wide range of tasks – from line loading and machine tending, to packaging and material handling.  If you walk the floor of your facility and see lightweight parts being handled near people, you’ve likely just found a great job for Baxter.  This smart, collaborative robot is ready to get to work for your company – doing the monotonous tasks that free up your skilled human labor to be exactly that."])>