No abstract

Recent applications of mobile robotics in odor detection field have driven an increasing interest of scientist and engineers. Several applications have been reported in areas as water and air monitoring; gas leakage detection; explosives, drugs or people detection and demining tasks, among others. Many robotic platforms (i.e. hardware and software) have been proposed to carry out an odor detection task however, in this field, this remains an open research. This research requires the development and evaluation of a robust mobile robotic platform which supports an odor sensory unit, as well as some development tools like PC communication, data saving and the odor delivery system. This work has been focused on this topic. A LabVIEW virtual instrument was developed to allow data acquisition from sensors as well as motor commands, via serial port. The platform was experimentally validated using two reactive Braitenberg inspired algorithms.

No abstract

Urban growth adversely affects accesses to public spaces and to their physical and functional structures. Simple tasks become a challenge for visually impaired individuals either because of the difficulty getting reliable non-visual information from the surrounding space or the lack of information. In Smart Cities scenarios, important investments will be directed to urban accessibility, but nowadays people with sensory disabilities still have to face mobility problems in those spaces. Therefore, designing suitable solutions to provide more information about urban spaces is extremely important and requires user participation. This context motivated the development of the Electronic Long Cane project. The project enhances the features of traditional long canes to detect obstacles located above the waist. Nowadays, the electronic cane was redesigned including new functions based on the Internet of Things. As a result, evidences of User-Centric Design have emerged, increasing the probability of success of this technology in Smart Cities context.

Urban growth adversely affects accesses to public spaces and to their physical and functional structures. Simple tasks become a challenge for visually impaired individuals either because of the difficulty getting reliable non-visual information from the surrounding space or the lack of information. In Smart Cities scenarios, important investments will be directed to urban accessibility, but nowadays people with sensory disabilities still have to face mobility problems in those spaces. Therefore, designing suitable solutions to provide more information about urban spaces is extremely important and requires user participation. This context motivated the development of the Electronic Long Cane project. The project enhances the features of traditional long canes to detect obstacles located above the waist. Nowadays, the electronic cane was redesigned including new functions based on the Internet of Things. As a result, evidences of User-Centric Design have emerged, increasing the probability of success of this technology in Smart Cities context.