An intelligent (semi-)autonomous passenger transportation system

We describe the hardware design and the control and navigation system of a (semi-)autonomous robot vehicle whose primary task is the transportation of people in crowded public environments. The system was initially designed as a robotic wheelchair for elderly and disabled people, called the MAid (mobility aid for elderly and disabled people). One of MAid´s core functions is deliberative autonomous locomotion in rapidly changing, large-scale environments, such as shopping malls or concourses of airports or railway stations, where tens or hundreds of people and objects are moving around. MAid´s performance was tested in the central station of Ulm, Germany, during rash-hour, and in the exhibition halls of the Hannover Messe ´98. MAid navigation and control system is currently being extended such that it could be used as a people taxi in airports, for example