BLANDINO

RoboEye project aims to support people affected by severe mobility problems like spinal cord injuries or degenerative diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or muscular dystrophy that foresee a progressive loss of mobility. Due to the delicate health condition of the patients, the usage of common aids becomes very difficult and often even impossible. In this context, it would be highly desirable to have interfaces the least tiring and invasive possible. The work was focused on the development of a plugin for commercial wheelchairs to enable the user to move easily and autonomously by using their gaze. Our solution integrates, on a standard power wheelchair, functionalities from the mobile robotics field, with the main benefit of providing to the user two driving options and comfortable navigation. It includes innovative autonomous control strategies through mixed reality tools as well as a novel and intuitive control system useful to achieve the desired goal. RoboEye is a result of a strong collaboration between Robosense and Nuova Blandino, a leader in the “made in Italy” of excellence in the development of medical aids. This collaboration resulted in the participation to Rehacare, the International Trade Fair for Rehabilitation and Care in Dusseldorf 2018, where several users were delighted to try our system.