RFID equipped robots to replace guide dogs

Filed in archive Implementation on July 5, 2007

Visually challenged people cannot find their way out and therefore they are forced to take the help of guide dogs to find their way out. Guide dogs require three to five trials to pick up a route and now the Department of Computer Science at Utah State University is looking forward to reduce the dependence of man on its best friend. The department is developing an RFID robot which would serve the visually challenged people in a manner similar as the guide dog. The reason robots are being favored over guide dogs is that a person will be able to interact with robots using wearable keyboards which is impossible in case of guide dogs, can interact with people in the environment, carry useful payload and also be used along with conventional navigation aids.

The robot being built will be mounted on mobile carts which will welcome people at the entrance of the supermarket and guide them through the store. Though the department has enough funding for developing the technology but it needs more fund for marketing the technology. RFID robots would make the life of visually challenged people simpler but they would surely miss their best friend.