Wheelchair robot navigation in different weather conditions using deep learning and evolved neural controller

Abstract

Purpose

Wheelchair robot navigation in different weather conditions using single camera is still a challenging task. The purpose of this study is to develop an autonomous wheelchair robot navigation method in different weather conditions, with single camera vision to assist physically disabled people.

Design/methodology/approach

A road detection method, called dimensionality reduction deep belief neural network (DRDBNN), is proposed for drivable road detection. Due to the dimensionality reduction ability of the DRDBNN, it detects the drivable road area in a short time for controlling the robot in real-time. A feed-forward neural network is used to control the robot for the boundary following navigation using evolved neural controller (ENC). The robot detects road junction area and navigates throughout the road, except in road junction, using calibrated camera and ENC. In road junction, it takes turning decision using Google Maps data, thus reaching the final destination.

Findings

The developed method is tested on a wheelchair robot in real environments. Navigation in real environments indicates that the wheelchair robot moves safely from source to destination by following road boundary. The navigation performance in different weather conditions of the developed method has been demonstrated by the experiments.

Originality/value

The wheelchair robot can navigate in different weather conditions. The detection process is faster than that of the previous DBNN method. The proposed ENC uses only distance information from the detected road area and controls the robot for boundary following navigation. In addition, it uses Google Maps data for taking turning decision and navigation in road junctions.

Citation

Khalilullah, K.M.I., Ota, S., Yasuda, T. and Jindai, M. (2019), "Wheelchair robot navigation in different weather conditions using deep learning and evolved neural controller", Industrial Robot, Vol. 46 No. 1, pp. 146-158. https://doi.org/10.1108/IR-08-2018-0176