Intelligent robotic walker design

This paper aims to present the current development of an intelligent robotic walker. This machine is designed as a walking aid for the visually impaired. The machine is equipped with different sensors to navigate its motion in the indoor environment such as hospitals, hotels, airports, and museums. The user drives the walker while the two front wheels have the ability to steer in order to avoid obstacles and to seek the target. The control system interacts continuously with the user via voice commands. A self-autonomy goal seeker is developed using fuzzy logic. A discrete logic navigator is used to avoid obstacles in the work space. The indoor environment is described using a 2D road map. Thehardware architecture is designed using a hierarchicalapproach. It is currently under development using microcontrollers. In the paper, the system design and preliminary simulation results are presented11This research work has been implemented at the University of King Saud and has been funded by the Faculty of Engineering Research Center; Project#426/8.Corresponding Author: Dr. Wahied Gharieb Ali, Associate Professor Electrical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800 Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia. Email: wahied@ksu.edu.s