The robot that will revolutionize the future of navigation for the visually-impaired… BLINDBOT: a robotic “seeing-eye dog” robot that utilizes a Mecanum drivetrain for omni-directional movement, 360° view camera system for obstacle detection and avoidance, and a path-planner utilizing Google Maps API to guide the blind and visually-impaired to their destinations in a safe, efficient manner. (Background is early V1 prototyping stage)
Changing Visually-Impaired Navigation
About Us & Our Mission
We are an organization dedicated to revolutionizing the field of Visually-Impaired Navigation by utilizing vehicle robotics, machine-learning techniques, and path-planning algorithms. For a long time, ground-based navigation for the visually-impaired consisted of only a few options, each with their own drawbacks. Examples of this include the walking cane, or “white cane”, that can only detect immediate obstacles and has a limited range of use. Another example is the “seeing-eye dog”, which is highly reliable in guiding the visually-impaired, yet requires quite a bit of additional responsibility and attention, and is not as compatible of an option for those without the faculties to take care of a pet.
This is where robotics comes in. A robot does not need any supervision and requires very little maintenance, which providing the same or even better navigation reliance than “seeing-eye dogs”. On top of that, robots can provide navigation for specific destinations and can sense obstacles in the environment from farther ahead. Overall, robotics is one of the best optimizations to this problem and stands to revolutionize the field of Visually-Impaired Navigation. We recognize this, and we have made it our goal to bring this revolution to fruition: a robotic “seeing-eye dog” for visually-impaired persons navigation. However, this robot is only one step in our overall goal. Our overall goal is to one day have a world where the visually-impaired can safely and reliably navigate and reach their desired destinations.
Meet Our Founder
This is Viraaj Seth, the founder of BlindBot. Starting since middle school, Viraaj has always had an interest in autonomous vehicle engineering. From robotics teams to research papers, Viraaj has dedicated much of his life to the innovation and development in the field of autonomous vehicle engineering. Viraaj decided to start BlindBot after seeing many issues with the current methods of navigation for the visually-impaired. Seeing an opportunity where autonomous vehicle engineering can be put to use, he began developing a robotic “seeing-eye dog” that would use visual detection systems and omnidirectional movement to guide visually-impaired persons from one place to another.
Today, Viraaj is hard at work pushing this project to its limits, constantly redesigning and improving upon our current work to deliver the best possible end product, somethings that will revolutionize VI navigation.
Status Updates and Announcements
Hey Everyone!
Small Status Update from the founder:
First thing is that I got wind that there are some issues with the website where not all components of it would load. I would like to sincerely apologize for this as this seems to have been going on for the past couple of weeks and we have failed to notice this. We have contacted Squarespace and everything should be rectified now.
Second, we have transitioned back to blindbot.org. As some of you may know, for a short period of time we transitioned to blindbot.com, but we have now migrated back to blindbot.org..
Third, we would also like to apologize for the amount of time we have spent without updating the website. We have been overfocused on project development and have failed to properly update everyone about the status of the project. Rest assured, we will keep tabs on giving proper updates on the project via the website.
Fourth, we have recently been in contact with a local university and are currently working to set up a sponsorship with their engineering department where we are hoping to receive valuable advice and support from distinguished professors, but also some funding for the project. We are excited to hopefully see this opportunity come to fruition!
Viraaj Seth, Signing Off
