[Electronics-Talk] Guide bots for the blind

[Ben Fulton]

Hi Everyone,

In the interest of progress and technology, in the spirit of the electronics
that we all came here to discuss. What does everyone think about guide bots
for the blind. How long do you think before we will have robots that could
replace dogs. Could they be programmed with accessible gps and made so that
the first time you go to a new place the bot is guiding you the whole way.
Now that I have a dog I realize what a huge advantage this would be.

Also, guide bots could be programmed to identify when traffic signals
change. Some cities are experimenting with smart traffic signals that will
emit a Bluetooth signal.

I realize the first self driving smart car accident happened fairly
recently, does this raise any concerns with the ability of a robot to guide
a user in a wrong and dangerous direction.

Would it be more advantageous to have a body clip that someone wears to get
the feedback, or would having something free running that has a handle like
the guide dog harness be better for a tactile response. - One design I
thought about is to have wheels on hydraulics so that the guide bot could
angle it's way upstairs with the use of hydraulics, but hten I thought that
haptic feedback could be provided in a hands off way like something worn
around the waist. Some people may want to check out the buzz clip. This does
some of what I would want, but not as much as a guide dog.

I'm wondering how long do people think it will be before we have something
electronic that could perform as good as a guide dog.

One thing for sure is that no one will object to having electronics in their
vehicle.