The INSPEX system will adapt obstacle-detection capabilities common in autonomous cars for portable and wearable applications including guidance for the visually impaired and blind, robotics, drones and smart manufacturing. It will be used for real-time, 3D detection, location and warning of obstacles under all environmental conditions. These include smoke, dust, fog, heavy rain/snow, and darkness, and in indoor and outdoor environments with unknown stationary and mobile obstacles.
Applying expertise and technologies of the nine partners in the three-year project, the system will be based on state-of-the-art range sensors such as LiDAR, UWB radar and MEMS ultrasound.
Coordinated by Leti, INSPEX will miniaturize and reduce the power consumption of these sensors to ease their integration in the new system. They will then be co-integrated with an inertial measurement unit (IMU), environmental sensing, wireless communications, signal-and-data processing, power-efficient data fusion and user interface, all in a miniature, low-power system designed to operate within wider smart and Internet of Things environments.
The main project demonstrator will embed the INSPEX system in a white cane for the visually impaired and provide 3D spatial audio feedback on obstacle location. In addition to applications for the visually impaired, drones and robots, the INSPEX system application domains are expected to include:
- Human mobility – First responders, disabled persons
- Instrumentation – Distance-measuring tools,
- Smart homes and factories – Assembly machines, security surveillance systems
