ABASCAL , Julio

The rise of mobile telephony has opened a vast diversity of new opportunities for older people with different levels of physical restrictions due to ageing. Mobile technology allows not only ubiquitous communications but also anytime access to some services that are vital for elderly people's security and autonomy. Nevertheless, with the...

In this paper a contribution to the practice of path planning using a new hierarchical extension of the D ∗ algorithm is introduced. A hierarchical graph is stratified into several abstraction levels and used to model environments for path planning. The hierarchical D∗ algorithm uses a downtop strategy and a set of pre-calculated trajectories...

The fast diffusion of mobile telephony is opening a vast diversity of new opportunities for people with different levels of physical restrictions, these due to disability or ageing. For this people mobile technology not only allows ubiquity for communications but also anytime access to some services that are vital for their security and...

In this paper, the off-line path planner module of a smart wheelchair aided navigation system is described. Environmental information is structured into a hierarchical graph (H-graph) and used either by the user interface or the path planner module. This information structure facilitates efficient path search and easier information access and...

The fast developing of information and communication technologies has aroused the hope of P new society in which all people would kwe the same opportunities to access -through diverse eservices- to knowledge, work, leisure, etc. Information society has also offered a promising opportunity for social inclusion of people with disabilities. The...

The fast diffusion of mobile telephony is opening a vast diversity of new opportunities for older people with different levels of physical restrictions due to ageing. Mobile technology not only allows ubiquitous communications but also anytime access to some services that are vital for their security and autonomy. Together with the numerous...

TetraNauta is an on-going R&D project1 aimed to develop a controller for standard electric powered wheelchairs that permits users with very severe mobility restrictions (such as people with tetraplegy) to easily navigate in closed environments (home, hospital, school, etc.). This project intends to design a non-expensive guidance system to...

En los últimos años se ha dedicado un gran esfuerzo a mejorar la velocidad de comunicación que se logra cuando se utilizan dispositivos de ayuda a la comunicación. Gracias a ello las personas que, debido a diversas discapacidades, tienen dificultades de comunicación oral, pueden comunicarse mediante dichos dispositivos de una manera...

Smart wheelchairs are designed for severely motor impaired people that have difficulties to drive standard -manual or electric poweredwheelchairs. Their goal is to automate driving tasks as much as possible in order to minimize user intervention. Nevertheless, human involvement is still necessary to maintain high level task control. Therefore...

Este trabajo trata los problemas asociados al diseño de la interfaz de usuario del sistema de navegación asistida de una silla de ruedas de tracción eléctrica dentro del entorno TetraNauta* . El diseño se ajusta a las restricciones impuestas por las características del sistema (móvil, empotrado, de tamaño reducido y de bajo coste...

AmbienNet is an ongoing project aiming to demonstrate the viability of accessible intelligent environments to support people with disabilities and elderly people living autonomously. Based on the Ambient Intelligence paradigm, it tries to study in depth its advantages and disadvantages for people with sensory, physical or cognitive...

AmbienNet environment has been developed with the aim of demonstrating the feasibility of accessible intelligent environments designed to support people with disabilities and older persons living independently. Its main purpose is to examine in depth the advantages and disadvantages of pervasive supporting systems based on the paradigm...

In the last decade, Assistive Technology researchers have studied and developed accessible and adaptable environments intended to enhance the autonomy and the quality of life of the people with disabilities and elderly people. Their efforts, technologically rooted in the Ubiquitous Computing technologies, are firmly supported by the Ambient...

The design of Ambient Intelligent Systems (AISs) is discussed in the context of assistive technologies. The main issues include ubiquitous communications, context awareness, natural interactions and heterogeneity, which are analyzed using some examples. A layered architecture is proposed for heterogeneous sub-systems integration with three...