Adaptive Shopping Mobility Speed Control for Natural User Following
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Wheelchair shopping carts are difficult to maneuver, slow, and require users to sit down, making shopping an unnatural and burdensome experience for senior citizens and individuals with health concerns.
Innovation Solution
A mobile device with adjustable speed, equipped with sensors and a motor, that adjusts its speed based on user attributes such as gait, heart rate, and blood oxygen level, and navigates using sensor data and user-specific profiles to mimic natural movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a wheelchair shopping cart is used, then users do not need to physically push the cart, but the cart becomes difficult to maneuver and requires wide turning radiuses
Solution Approach 1:
The shopping cart system dynamically adjusts its operating mode between autonomous following and manual control based on user needs. The autonomous mode uses sensors and motors to automatically follow the user, eliminating physical pushing effort. The manual mode allows direct user control for situations requiring precise maneuvering. This dynamic adaptability resolves the contradiction by providing effortless operation when needed while maintaining full maneuverability when required.
2Ease of operation
If a wheelchair shopping cart is used, then users are supported while shopping, but users must sit down which creates difficulties for reaching certain items
Solution Approach 1:
The system serves multiple functions: it acts as an autonomous follower to support users who need rest, while also functioning as a manual shopping cart for users who prefer to walk and reach items independently. The telescoping arms can operate in both autonomous and manual modes, adapting to different user preferences and situations. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by providing user support without forcing a seated posture.
3Ease of operation
If a wheelchair shopping cart is used, then users gain mobility assistance, but the cart moves at a fixed slow pace that does not allow users to move quickly or at their normal walking pace
Solution Approach 1:
The shopping cart system dynamically adjusts its speed to match the user's walking pace by using sensors to detect user movement and automatically adjusting its velocity. The system can accelerate when the user walks faster and decelerate when the user slows down, maintaining a natural walking experience. This dynamic speed adjustment resolves the contradiction by providing mobility assistance while allowing users to move at their normal pace.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the mobile device uses sensor data and user-specific profiles to determine user signature, then the speed adjustment becomes highly adaptive to user needs, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-calibration by automatically learning user walking patterns and preferences through sensor data collection and analysis. The processor analyzes sensor data to create user-specific profiles and determine optimal speed settings without requiring manual programming or complex external configuration. This self-service capability resolves the contradiction by providing high adaptability through automated learning rather than complex manual system configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
Mobile devices described herein relate to assisting users. In one embodiment, a mobile device for assisting a user is disclosed. The mobile device includes a motor, one or more sensors, a processor, and a memory communicably coupled to the processor and including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to determine, using sensor data from the one or more sensors, a signature of the user that is operating the mobile device, the signature indicating at least attributes about movement of the user. The instructions include instructions to responsive to determining that the signature satisfies a trigger, adjust a speed of the mobile device by controlling the motor.