Yueyang Modern Service Vocational College has made significant progress in the development of a robotic guide dog designed to enhance mobility for visually impaired individuals. This innovative project, led by a young research team at the college, aims to address the mobility challenges faced by the visually impaired by leveraging artificial intelligence and robotics.
While traditional guide dogs provide essential assistance, they come with drawbacks such as high training costs, limited availability, and restricted applicability in various environments. To tackle these issues, the research team has utilized their expertise in intelligent robotics and artificial intelligence to form an interdisciplinary team focused on the design and application of robotic guide dogs. Their goal is to create a guide robot capable of autonomous perception, dynamic obstacle avoidance, and intelligent interaction, thereby opening up new avenues for independent travel for visually impaired individuals.
Recently, the team achieved a milestone by winning the second prize in the Autonomous Driving category of the National College Student Intelligent Vehicle Competition. The project has received support through the Ministry of Education’s New Generation Information Technology Innovation Project and the Hunan Provincial Department of Education’s Outstanding Youth Research Project. Key technologies such as multi-sensor fusion perception and adaptive gait control for complex terrain have been developed, leading to several invention and utility model patents, with one patent already granted.
The collaboration between faculty and students has fostered an environment where competitions enhance both teaching and innovation. For two consecutive years, they have secured the second prize in the National College Student Intelligent Vehicle Competition, accumulating invaluable practical engineering experience for technology optimization. Furthermore, the college is committed to integrating education with local industry demands, having recently approved the new “Intelligent Robotics Technology” program, which bolsters both teaching resources and hardware support for research.
In recent years, the college has partnered with several leading companies to cultivate high-quality skilled personnel and to develop research outcomes that hold both social value and practical significance. Currently, the robotic guide dog developed by the college incorporates essential features such as voice interaction, scene and terrain recognition, intelligent obstacle avoidance, and directional navigation. The project has begun pilot testing in collaboration with the local disabled persons’ federation in the Yueyang Tower area, conducting field tests and functionality optimizations in community and public spaces.
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