An Edge Computing Platform of Guide-dog Robot for Visually Impaired

Information processing of guide dog robot requires expensive computing resources to meet real-time performance. We propose an edge computing framework based on Intel Up-Squared board and neural compute stick. Image processing and real-time control are performed on the framework. In addition, the voice recognition and commanding are also implemented, which are processed on Amazon cloud service. Vision, speech, and control services are integrated by ASU VIPLE (Visual IoT/Robotics Programming Language Environment). A prototype is developed, which implements the guide dog’s obstacle avoidance, traffic sign recognition and following, and voice interaction with human.