{"id":6,"date":"2017-09-15T17:23:32","date_gmt":"2017-09-15T17:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mrsdprojects.ri.cmu.edu\/2017teamg\/?page_id=6"},"modified":"2018-04-05T04:41:47","modified_gmt":"2018-04-05T04:41:47","slug":"system-summary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mrsdprojects.ri.cmu.edu\/2017teamg\/system-summary\/","title":{"rendered":"System Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Problem Description<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Cabot is an assistive robot designed to help visually impaired users navigate through a new
\nenvironment. The user will use this suitcase-shaped robot to aid them in traversing new indoor
\nenvironments. Many studies and experiments have shown that visually impaired users struggle
\nwith traditional navigation techniques. Users still use guide dogs and canes in order to navigate
\nareas. However, these methods do not provide essential information about the path the person
\nneeds to travel or their final destination. There are also communication issues with these type of
\nsolutions. For example, guide dogs, although highly trained, are unable to consistently
\ncommunicate with their users about their intent. The visually impaired users, in turn, have
\nproblems relaying their wishes to the guide dog.<\/span><\/p>\n

One current solution that is being tested is NavCog<\/a>, a phone app based navigation assistant
\nspecifically designed for the visually impaired. It has some limitations as it is unable to provide
\ninformation on obstacles in the path that have not previously been mapped. Visually impaired users
\nalso prefer having humans to guide them and having something grounded to trust. We hope to
\nprovide a solution for all these shortcomings in the current solutions to guide and assist blind users.
\nCabot needs to be in a symbiotic relationship with its user to provide an effective platform to guide
\nthem through new indoor environments.<\/p>\n

We envision the solution to be of no hassle to the user and available to pick up in public areas
\nwhere they will be necessary. This alleviates the burden of visually impaired people having to
\ncarry around and store their canes or take care and support their dogs<\/p>\n

Use Case<\/h2>\n

Maria, a visually impaired woman from<\/span>\u00a0Pittsburgh, is on the way to Pittsburgh International
\nAirport to catch a flight home to her daughter\u2019s wedding. She currently uses a cane on a daily basis
\nin order to walk around to the destinations she needs to reach, but she has never been to this airport
\nbefore. Maria is becoming nervous about navigating on her own in this unfamiliar and crowded
\nlocation. As she leaves her Uber, Maria uses her cane to feel for the curb and enters through the
\nairport\u2019s automatic doors. An attendant by the door asks if Maria needs any assistance arriving to
\nher gate, and offers help from their new assistive robot, Cabot, which Maria decides to accept, as
\ndepicted in the below figure.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Pittsburgh International previously mapped out the floorplan of the airport and
\nplaced Bluetooth beacons around the halls for Cabot\u2019s navigation and localization requirements. The
\nattendant helps Maria enter her flight details into the Cabot user interface. The interface alerts the
\nflight attendants to the arrival of Maria, will update Cabot with any new gate changes, and tells
\nMaria which gate they will be navigating to. Maria places her purse and foldable cane into the
\nbasket on top of the robot. Cabot asks Maria if she would like a functional overview to describe
\nall of the Cabot features, which she agrees to by verbally stating \u201cYes\u201d. The overview recommends
\nMaria to push Cabot in front of her in order to best detect obstacles. Voice commands that Maria
\ncan use are also provided, such as \u201chelp desk,\u201d \u201crestroom,\u201d and \u201cfood.\u201d Once done, Cabot asks if
\nMaria is ready to proceed to her gate, which she again replies, \u201cYes.\u201d Cabot navigates to the
\nsecurity line available for Cabot users, using motorized wheels, slowing down adapting to the
\npedestrians in front of the robot. On the way to the security line, there is a suitcase in the path of
\nCabot, which verbally warns Maria and vibrates the handle once it is about to turn to go around
\nthe obstacle. Once the obstacle is out of the path, the handle vibrates again and a \u201cping\u201d is heard,
\nletting Maria know that the way is clear again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once Maria gets through security, she says \u201ctime\u201d to Cabot, which responds, \u201cYour flight
\nleaves in 45 minutes, the current time is 4:55pm.\u201d Maria decides that there is time for food, and
\nsays \u201cfood\u201d to Cabot. Cabot states, \u201cThe food destinations around you include: \u201cMcDonalds,\u201d 3
\nminutes off route, \u201cChili\u2019s ToGo,\u201d 5 minutes off route, and \u201cMacaroni Grill,\u201d 10 minutes off route.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nWould you like to hear more options?\u201d Maria responds \u201cno, add stop, Chili’s ToGo.\u201d Cabot
\nnavigates to \u201cChili\u2019s ToGo,\u201d using vibrations before each turn and a ping after each turn is
\ncomplete. Cabot confirms to Maria when she has arrived. After eating, Cabot continues on the
\nroute to Maria\u2019s gate, bringing her to the information desk. Upon arrival, Cabot says \u201cYou have
\narrived to your gate, your flight will board in 5 minutes.\u201d An attendant helps Maria to an empty
\nseat and Maria returns Cabot to an attendant when boarding her flight.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Problem Description Cabot is an assistive robot designed to help visually impaired users navigate through a new environment. The user will use this suitcase-shaped robot to aid them in traversing new indoor environments. Many studies and experiments have shown that visually impaired users struggle with traditional navigation techniques. Users still use guide dogs and canes … Continue Reading<\/strong> <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrsdprojects.ri.cmu.edu\/2017teamg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrsdprojects.ri.cmu.edu\/2017teamg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrsdprojects.ri.cmu.edu\/2017teamg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrsdprojects.ri.cmu.edu\/2017teamg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/126"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrsdprojects.ri.cmu.edu\/2017teamg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/mrsdprojects.ri.cmu.edu\/2017teamg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":226,"href":"https:\/\/mrsdprojects.ri.cmu.edu\/2017teamg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6\/revisions\/226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrsdprojects.ri.cmu.edu\/2017teamg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}