National Post -- A University of British Columbia researcher has developed a smart wheelchair aimed at helping seniors with cognitive disabilities live independently for a longer time and with a better quality of life. Pooja Viswanathan, a PhD computer science student, said the wheelchair fills a gaping hole in the care of elderly people afflicted with Alzheimer’s or dementia who are not allowed on powered wheelchairs due to safety concerns, but who are seldom strong enough to manoeuvre a manual wheelchair. “It’s heartbreaking to walk into a long-term care facility, and you see them bumping into walls,” Ms. Viswanathan said. With these patients in mind, she designed a powered wheelchair smart enough to recognize and avoid obstacles. Using a laptop stored under the wheelchair and a camera mounted on the front castor, the prototype can recognize landmarks and calculate available space using depth perception. It stops automatically within a pre-determined distance from obstacles such as furniture, walls and stairs.
