GPS enabled devices have taken on a new avatar for helping the disabled. A wheelchair that was designed by developed at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania USA, uses LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) to assist the blind and the physically disabled with getting around in cities. The system used is able to pinpoint the wheelchair’s current location through GPS and LIDAR and combines the image generated of the environment to maps stored on a database. This will enable the system to figure out easy access routes that the chair can use to get around locations. The process seems simple and was initially designed for a car that was entered into a 57-mile-long race using the same system. The LIDAR system is the future of GPS navigation that’s not too far off from being implemented in a lot of future technology.

While this technology will prove extremely helpful to the physically disabled who will still be able to maintain a certain amount of control, it may need a substantial amount of further tweaking to be easily useable for the visually impared users. However the idea of a car doing the same thing could mean a big step for transportation perhaps.
[Popsci]