Smart Personal Mobility (SPM) for service and entertainment

Abstract

Personal Mobility (PM) is a single or double seated vehicle driven by electric motors. PM has played a wide variety of roles, such as leisure, entertainment, and traffic convenience for humans. For example, i-ROAD developed by Toyota Motor Corporation is designed to solve the shortage of parking space and to stimulate service of sharing cars. Segway Incorporation's Segway PT is a two wheeled, self-balancing, battery-powered electric vehicle. For a short distance, the vehicle enables people to move conveniently, since it perfectly performs with adequate sidewalks and curb cuts within intersections and ramps. We have developed a Smart Personal Mobility (SPM), a PM type vehicle with autonomous driving functions. The main purpose of developing SPM is to help the elderly to improve their mobility. Therefore, the SPM is equipped with two LiDARs, a camera, a device for sensing magnetic signal, and other several types of sensors for self-driving techniques. The autonomous driving system is composed of three main components: Environment perception system, Localization system, and Path-tracking system. In this paper, we describe two performances that demonstrate the self-driving function of SPM, specifically for service and entertainment. The purpose of service is to improve the mobility of the elderly and handicapped through the autonomous driving ability of SPM. The SPM is capable of perceiving distances from environment obstacles, boarding and getting off elevators, and following along with any desired line. Thus, people with impaired mobility has a chance to move from a start point to a desired end point utilizing these functions. Moreover, the self-driving technology of SPM is shown in the entertainment sector. Projection art is an example that SPM can demonstrate its key functions. Since two beam projectors are mounted on the front and rear of SPM, it illuminates images of animations and fireworks, when the vehicle move along with a certain person. By utilizing geometric information on LiDAR, the steering angle and velocity of SPM is determined.