Guide cane and method for guiding used for guide cane

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10914591-B2
Application number	US-201716070440-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 15, 2017
Priority date	Jun 12, 2017
Publication date	Feb 9, 2021
Grant date	Feb 9, 2021

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a guide cane and a method for guiding used for a guide cane. The guide cane comprises a movement component and an object acquisition component. The object acquisition component is provided on the movement component, and the movement component is electrically coupled to the object acquisition component. The object acquisition component acquires a positional information of the target object in a target space, and determines a navigation route according to the target position indicated by the positional information and an initial position where the guide cane is currently located. The movement component guides, according to the navigation route, a user to arrive at the target position.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A guide cane, wherein the guide cane comprises: a movement component and an object acquisition component,
wherein the object acquisition component is located on the movement component, and the movement component is electrically coupled to the object acquisition component;
the object acquisition component is configured to acquire a positional information of a target object in a target space, and determine a navigation route according to a target position indicated by the positional information and an initial position where the guide cane is currently located, wherein the target space is a library;
the movement component is configured to guide by its movement a user to arrive at the target position according to the navigation route;
wherein the object acquisition component is further configured to guide the user, in response to the user arriving at the target position, to acquire the target object under driving of the movement component, the target object is a target book, and the positional information comprises information concerning the position of the target book on a bookshelf.

2. The guide cane according to claim 1 , wherein the guide cane further comprises a communication module, which is provided on the movement component and is electrically coupled to the object acquisition component,
wherein the communication module is configured to send an object acquisition request information to a server in response to an operation instruction, which is configured to instruct acquiring the target object, the object acquisition request information comprising an identifier of the target object;
wherein the communication module is further configured to receive the positional information of the target object sent by the server, and send the positional information to the object acquisition component.

3. The guide cane according to claim 2 , wherein the guide cane further comprises an information collection module and a conversion module, the information collection module and the conversion module being respectively coupled to the communication module,
wherein the information collection module is configured to acquire an object keyword, and send the object keyword to the server through the communication module;
the information collection module is further configured to receive a recommendation information sent by the server through the communication module, the recommendation information comprising an identifier of the object indicated by the object keyword;
the communication module is further configured to send the recommendation information to the conversion module;
the conversion module is configured to convert the recommendation information into a first voice signal, which is configured to prompt the user to select the target object through the information collection module.

4. The guide cane according to claim 2 , wherein the object acquisition component comprises a navigation module and an object positioning module, wherein the movement component comprises a movement chassis, and the object positioning module is provided on a top of the movement chassis,
wherein the navigation module is configured to determine the initial position, determine the navigation route according to the target position and the initial position, and send the navigation route to the movement chassis;
the object positioning module is configured to determine the target object from the objects within the target space and guide the user to acquire the target object under driving of the movement chassis.

5. The guide cane according to claim 4 , wherein the navigation module comprises a RFID reader, a lidar and a first processing module, the RFID reader and the lidar being respectively coupled to the first processing module, the target space being provided with m RFID passive tags, the m RFID passive tags being located at different positions, m being an integer greater than 1,
wherein the RFID reader and the m RFID passive tags are configured to estimate first coordinates of the guide cane on a two-dimensional grid map of the target space;
the lidar is configured to transmit a detection signal to an obstacle in a surrounding environment, and acquires radar data of the lidar according to a returned detection signal, where the radar data comprises distance and direction of the obstacle with respect to the lidar;
the first processing module is configured to determine, on the basis of the first coordinates and the radar data, second coordinates of the guide cane on the two-dimensional grid map by using a particle filter algorithm, and to determine the initial position according to the second coordinates;
the first processing module is further configured to determine the navigation route according to the target position and the initial position, and send the navigation route to the movement chassis.

6. The guide cane according to claim 5 , wherein the RFID reader is configured to filter out, from the m RFID passive tags according to a detected signal strength value of the RFID passive tag during movement of the guide cane, the top n RFID passive tags ranked by the signal strength value, where n is an integer, and
n<m;
the RFID reader 1 s further configured to send, through the communication module, identifier of each of then RFID passive tags to the server, and receive, through the communication module, tag coordinates of the corresponding RFID passive tags sent by the server, the tag coordinates being the coordinates of the RFID passive tag on the two-dimensional grid map of the target space;
the RFID reader is further configured to estimate, on the basis of the tag coordinates of each of the n RFID passive tags and the distance on the two-dimensional grid map between the RFID passive tag and the guide cane, the first coordinates of the guide cane on the two-dimensional grid map by using the maximum likelihood estimation method.

7. The guide cane according to claim 4 , wherein the identifier of the target book comprises the classification number of the target book,
wherein the object positioning module comprises a longitudinal retractable mechanism, a smart camera and a lateral retractable mechanism, the smart camera being coupled to the conversion module;
the longitudinal retractable mechanism is configured to drive the smart camera, according to the positional information, to move longitudinally to the position of the target book on the bookshelf;
the smart camera is configured to move laterally under the driving of the movement chassis, identify classification numbers of the books on the bookshelf, and in response to an identified classification number being identical with the classification number of the target book, instruct the lateral retractable mechanism to extend to the target book;
the smart camera is further configured to instruct the conversion module to generate a second voice signal, which is configured to prompt the user to acquire the target book.

8. The guide cane according to claim 7 ,
wherein the information collection module is further coupled to the object positioning module;
the information collection module is further configured to, in response to a confirmation instruction, instruct the object positioning module to restore to the initial state.

9. The guide cane according to claim 4 , wherein the guide cane further comprises a armrest, the armrest being provided with a vibrator and an emergency stop button, the vibrator being coupled to the navigation module, and the emergency stop button being coupled to the movement chassis,
wherein the navigation module is further configured to, in response to detecting an obstacle
in front of the guide cane, instruct the vibrator to vibrate so as to drive the armres

Assignees

• Boe Technology Group Co Ltd

Inventors

• Li Yue

Classifications

• H04N23/695

  Control of camera direction for changing a field of view, e.g. pan, tilt or based on tracking of objects · CPC title

• H04N23/90

  Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums · CPC title

• G01C21/20 Primary

  Instruments for performing navigational calculations (G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence) · CPC title

• G06V20/20

  in augmented reality scenes · CPC title

• G01S7/003

  Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations · CPC title