[access-uk] Re: Wal-mart has new robot to help visually impaired customers.
- From: David W Wood <g3yxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 18 May 2005 15:29:07 +0100
Ian George and all
it hasn't got a mind, it is a robot.
Come to think of it most of the assistants in my local super market
don't seem to have minds either!!!!
... a good job they aren't on this list!!!!
David
In message <7FE29B2BECFA144DBBBBD124FBE1696602271475@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
core.bbc.co.uk>, Ian Macrae <ian.macrae@xxxxxxxxx> writes
> On the principle that ASDA's Braille Dimo guns are often empty,
> presumably they'll forget to charge the robots up! And will they,
> like trolleys, have minds of their own?
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
>> On Behalf Of George Bell
>> Sent: 18 May 2005 10:00
>> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Subject: [access-uk] Wal-mart has new robot to help visually
>> impaired customers.
>
>> I thought some supermarket shoppers might be amused by the
>> following?
>>
>> George.
>>
>>
>> Wal-Mart Tests Robots for Blind Shoppers
>> By Evan Schuman
>> LOGAN, Utah, May 16 -- Wal-Mart started quietly testing a
>> university-created robot designed to help visually impaired
>> consumers navigate store aisles and
>> find their desired products.
>>
>> The robot?named RG, for Robotic Guide?is the creation of
>> Vladimir Kulyukin, an assistant professor of computer science at
>> Utah State University and the
>> director of the university's Computer Science Assistive
>> Technology Laboratory.
>>
>> The initial version of RG?which weighs about 22 pounds and is
>> roughly the height of an upright vacuum cleaner?is limited to
>> three basic functions.
>>
>> First, it guides the consumer through the aisles and around
>> people, displays and merchandise using RFID readers and 16
>> ultrasonic sonars.
>>
>> Its second function is to communicate with the consumer. It
>> takes instructions via a small Braille directory of products
>> that is attached to the robot's
>> handle, and it replies to the shopper's questions with spoken
>> answers.
>>
>> The third function is to use its RFID reader to locate the
>> desired products. The store's RFID tags help the robot navigate
>> the lanes as well as locate products.
>>
>> "There are RFID sensors placed on the shelves in the store. The
>> robot has the RFID antennae and detects the presence of those
>> tags," Kulyukin said. "That's
>> how it knows it's reached the Colgate section of the toothpaste
>> shelf and it then announces, 'You have reached the Colgate
>> toothpaste section, on your
>> right.'"
>>
>> The robot has its limitations, though. Until item-level tagging
>> becomes the norm, the system can indicate only the part of the
>> shelf where the product is
>> supposed to be. If it's been moved?either by an employee moving
>> stock who forgot to move or update the RFID tag or by another
>> consumer who put a tube of
>> Aim toothpaste amidst the Colgate?the visually impaired consumer
>> might grab the wrong product.
>>
>> The robot's development is still at a very early stage and has
>> thus far mostly been paid for with a $500,000 grant from the
>> National Science Foundation,
>> Kulyukin said. He is negotiating with a large national retail
>> chain to buy the units and invest in its further development.
>>
>>
>> Adapted with permission from eWeek.com. Copyright (c) 2005 Ziff
>> Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.
>
>
>> This Message has been scanned for viruses by McAfee Groupshield.
>
>
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/
>
> This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain
> personal views which are not the views of the BBC unless
> specifically
> stated.
> If you have received it in error, please delete it from your
> system.
> Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in
> reliance on it and notify the sender immediately. Please note that
> the
> BBC monitors e-mails sent or received.
> Further communication will signify your consent to this.
--
David W Wood
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe]
** If this link doesn't work then send a message to:
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
** and in the Subject line type
** unsubscribe
** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the
** immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq]
** or send a message, to
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
Other related posts:
