This HBCU Is Using Tech To Help People With Disabilities Navigate High-Traffic Areas

Morgan State University and Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution, is releasing an autonomous wheelchair technology that will help people with disabilities navigate congested areas such as airports, hospitals, museums, college campuses, and military bases.

The wheelchair uses an Autonomous Mobility System that was conceived by Dr. Mansoureh Jeihani, professor and director of the National Transportation Center (NTC) and the SMARTER Center at Morgan State. Dr. Kofi Nyarko, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the Center for Equitable AI and Machine Learning Systems (CEAMLS) at the school, also contributed to the design.

It is also supported by over five years of research, according to a press release.

How does the wheelchair work?

The technology was unveiled at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI Airport). Passengers can retrieve the autonomous wheelchair through an app by scanning the QR code from the designated areas. To access the wheelchair, passengers will have to register or log into the app.

The wheelchair will arrive at their location, and once authenticated, the person who summoned it can sit on it and proceed to their desired destination. The wheelchair will then take them to their destination.

Student operators guided the wheelchair via mobile commands, starting from Door 8 on the terminal’s upper level until it reached the ticket counter during the demonstration. After this, the students directed the wheelchair along a predefined route through security checkpoint C, where it went through security screening with transportation safety agents.

“It’s a powerful reminder that transportation isn’t just about planes, trains, and automobiles. And Technology isn’t just about gadgets, apps, and code. And serving the public is not just about policy and programs…it’s about people,” said Lt. Governor Aruna Miller. 

The research team behind the wheelchair

The autonomous wheelchair was developed in collaboration by the project’s co-principal investigators: Mansoureh Jeihani, Ph. D., a professor and the director of the National Transportation Center (NTC) and the SMARTER Center, and Kofi Nyarko, Ph. D., a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the director of CEAMLS at Morgan State University.

“Our team wanted to combine the most cutting-edge AI and computer vision technologies with sensible wheelchair design choices,” Dr. Jeihani said. “Giving people with disabilities this kind of mobility and independence makes public spaces much more inclusive.”

Image: Morgan State University