Autonomous Ride On Pod

The central objective of this project is to design a sensor array capable of providing simple object detection and notification to a personal electric scooter operated by a visually impaired occupant. The device will be mounted to the front of this scooter and assist in notifying the operator of objects in their path while traveling in bike lanes and on sidewalks. A “Black Box” device was designed to accomplish this goal, mounting above the handlebars of a GoTrax scooter. Using external power from a NMC battery, a stereo RealSense camera, and a Jetson Orin Nano controller, the system utilizes object detection software to successfully scan the area in front of the scooter for obstacles and notify the user with both auditory and haptic feedback. After substantial testing of the physical and systems design, the device was shown to successfully detect obstacles up to 8 meters (26.2 ft) away and inform the user via audio and haptic feedback in the form of specifically timed beeps and vibrations in the handlebars.