The ASSAM project aims to compensate
for declining physical and cognitive capabilities
of elderly persons by user-centred
development of modular navigation
assistants for various mobility platforms,
such as walker, wheelchair, and tricycle,
enabling sustained everyday mobility.
For non-electric platforms, the Navigation
Aid comprises odometry hardware
in cooperation with a smartphone or tablet
computer with GPS that interacts with
Open Street Maps for precise navigation.
Simple dialogues allow natural language
interaction. Using additional laser-range
sensors, the Driving Aid enhances the
safety by recognising and warning for
steps and obstacles, also enabling indoor
navigation.
Fully autonomous driving will be supported
in charted indoor environments.
The care centre connection is activated
manually, or automatically in case of a
fall or crash, and permits the caregiver
to visually inspect the situation when
authorised by the user. End-users will be
involved from the beginning in the design
and evaluation of the mobility assistants
for everyday usability. The iterative
schedule implies two refinement phases,
where the initial prototypes will be adapted
according to the users’ feedback.
The ASSAM Forum will be set up for enterprises
such as shopping centres, hotels,
hospitals, airports or cities who intend to
buy mobility assistants in numbers to rent
to their clients for sharing.

https://www-cps.hb.dfki.de/assam/

• Western Europe and North America

• People with disabilities

The ASSAM project aims to compensate for declining physical and cognitive capabilities of elderly persons by user-centred development of modular navigation assistants for various mobility platforms, such as walker, wheelchair, and tricycle, providing sustained everyday mobility and autonomy with seamless transition from indoors to outdoors in environments such as residential complexes or the neighbourhood quarter.