Shared control framework applied to a robotic aid for the blind

Abstract

For a visually impaired person, walking without assistance from something or someone is difficult. We use a robotic cane to demonstrate the operation of a shared control framework in order to assist a user in walking through an obstacle rich environment. As the device would normally avoid all obstacles it would be difficult for the user to approach chairs or closed doors. It would also be difficult for the user to reach an overall goal as the robotic aid does not "know" what the goal is. Therefore shared control is important so that the user can override or compromise with the autonomous command so that the user is helped not impaired by the device. Here, a shared control framework including a model of human interaction is demonstrated by experiments.