MotorizedWheelchair
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Lego motorized wheelchair joins Mindstorms NXT alumni (video)
It's been a while since we've come across a Lego project that's on par with a certain Pixar hero or the Rubiks solving robots, but Simon Burfield's brick-based motorized wheelchair definitely ranks close. He's cobbled together seven Mindstorm NXT micro-computers (programmed in RobotC), 14 motors, 16 touch sensors and a Technic frame to build a chair capable of carting around 200 pounds of Lego obsessed humanity. As functional as it is, the creator aims to improve the build with wireless control via Android, a task he says should be "very straightforward" over Bluetooth. If you'd like to see the demo in all its noisy glory, check out the video after the break.
Wii Balance Board-controlled robot a hit with toddlers in Ithaca (video)
How could we resist a story involving robot-powered babies? The Ithaca College Tots on Bots project aims to mobilize infants with physical disabilities by setting them atop a "mobile robot" equipped with a Wii Balance Board to let the young operator steer by leaning -- which, it turns out, works pretty well. Additionally, the vehicle uses sonar to avoid nasty crashes and a remote control that an adult can use to take control. Further study has to be made before any long term developmental benefits can be ascertained, but in the meantime it does look like a lot of fun. See it in action after the break.
Mind controlled motorized wheelchair demonstrated
You know that the future's here when technology arrives that allows vehicles to be controlled with nothing but a thought. Ambient, in partnership with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, has developed a wheelchair that can be instructed to move when the driver thinks about certain words. The key component is a larynx control system called the Audeo, developed by the founders of Ambient, Michael Callahan and Thomas Coleman. The New Scientist has a video demonstration of the unit, which is surprisingly eerie without the usual subtle twitch of a hand that accompanies regular motorized wheelchairs. The next stage in the project -- externally recognizing individual words imagined in the brain -- is apparently a while off: still, we think a thought controlled anything at this stage in the game is a major feat.
