We have developed a new robotic system to assist elderly people during walking in outdoor environments. The walking assistive robot is equipped with depth camera, GPS, compass and ultrasonic sensors. The robot generates the route to the goal location using the google map. Based on the sensor information the robot follows the generated route while avoiding obstacles. In addition, the robot adjusts its speed based on the walking speed of the user and sends information to the family members of the user about the location in the google map. The robot checks the condition of the user and his/her distance to the robot and takes the appropriate decisions. The usefulness of the proposed system is examined experimentally.

Funabiki Takahiro