MIT Develops Autonomous Scooter

With self driving cars on the rise, it is quite easy to forget that there are other forms of transportation that can be used hands free. A new vehicle to join this group is autonomous scooters. Scooters used by the elderly and disabled have now been developed to be hands free for easier use by the rider. The software for the scooter was developed by MIT 's artificial intelligence and Computer Science Lab with help from the National University of Singapore and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology. This is helpful technology because it allows people who are mobility impaired to have easier forms of transportation. The scooter can be used both indoors and outdoors but the researchers at the university are working on making the scooter maneuver around tight spaces.

The researchers has many layers of software. There is a low level control algorithm that allows the vehicle to respond immediately to changes in the surrounding environment. This includes avoiding objects and pedestrians in the path of the scooter. There is also a route planning algorithm that the vehicle uses to figure out where it is on a map. The control algorithm for the scooters is also used for golf carts and city cars which is beneficial because it allows for uniformity and easier understanding of the systems. In addition, this uniformity allows for information to be transferred easily across vehicles and reduces the complexity when developing the vehicles.

These autonomous scooters are a great development for our increasingly disabled-friendly world. Now not only will we have doors that open automatically for wheelchairs like most buildings have implemented, but we will now have transportation for people lack mobility so they too can also lead an autonomous lifestyle.

References:

https://www.eecs.mit.edu/news-events/media/driverless-vehicle-options-now-include-scooters

http://www.theonion.com/graphic/new-tandem-mobility-scooter-released-33043