A Walking Aid Integrated in a Semi-Autonomous Robot Shopping Cart

Abstract

Abstract—Challenged and/or elderly people experiencing limited mobility impairment may want to get support for walking. In public, e.g., in a supermarket, they may want to get this support without it being immediately visible. Therefore, we integrated walking aid functionality into a robot shopping cart. It can support a customer to lean on the cart while the walking pace is controlled to follow a user-determined setting. More precisely, the user of the cart can get walking assistance by holding specifically designed handle bars supporting both arms. This construction is fully integrated in a prototypical robot designed as a shopping cart. Keywords—Walking aid; semi-autonomous robot shopping cart. I.