This story Originally appeared on the NVIDIA blog and is republished here with permission.
High school student Selin Alara Ornek looks to the future: using machine learning and NVIDIA Supersonic Platform for artificial intelligence and edge robotics to create robotic guide dogs for people with visual impairments.
The project, called IC4UIt is one of seven robots Ornek has created to date, including a school helper robot, named BB4Allwhich can help prevent harassment with real-time notifications and health monitoring capabilities.
About the creator
Ornek, a high school senior from Istanbul, Turkey, has always had a passion for the intersection of artificial intelligence, social good, and robotics. She is a self-taught robotics developer—when creating IC4U, she used the Jetson Developer Kit as a sandbox to explore and experiment.
She is a member of ai-4-all.org/” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>AI4ALLa non-profit program with a mission to make ai more diverse and inclusive, and the New York Academy of Sciences. She has a global presence in the robotics scene and has been recognized at the European Youth Awards and Women in tech Global Awards. She took first place at the 2021 Istanbul Bosphorus Robot Cup and third place at the 2023 OpenCV ai Competition.
His inspiration
Ornek’s inspiration to create IC4U came from a trip to France, where he saw a guide dog helping its owner. His late dog, Korsan, was also a key source of inspiration.
“I started to think that if a visually impaired person lost their dog, they would not only lose their best friend, but their eyes as well,” Ornek said.
The project was built to offer visually impaired people a companion that is not limited by aging and health.
Your Jetson project
Ornek initially used ultrasonic sensors located in IC4U’s eyes to detect obstacles. But after attending the 2021 World Summit on artificial intelligence as a panelist, he decided to develop new ai applications for the robot dog that would allow it to mimic a real one.
Ultrasonic sensors only offered detection of objects directly in front of the IC4U, and Ornek wanted to extend detection to the entire environment of the robot.
The solution was to use sound sensors located in the robot’s ears. IC4U can orient itself towards a sound and process the visual information collected by an integrated ZED 2i wide-angle 3D ai camera, which captures a wider range of visual data and helps detect information such as an object’s size and speed.
“To power the ZED 2i camera and for high-quality image processing, I used a NVIDIA Supersonic Nano “The developer kit,” Ornek said. “I was so impressed with the performance of the ZED 2i that I didn’t want to limit its use to a simple object recognition task.”
He began to think about other ways IC4U could help a visually impaired person. IC4U’s enhanced data processing from high-resolution sensors, powered by Jetson, allows it to detect city objects such as stop signs, traffic light colors, and the denomination of paper money.
Additionally, Ornek used Jetson Nano to add a shopping feature to IC4U through web scraping of publicly available resources, with the goal of one day expanding it through partnerships with online retailers.
Back to school
In the long term, Ornek hopes to deploy IC4U for use in smart cities and spaces, continuing his exploration of ai applications with next-generation platforms like Jetson Orin.
This fall, she will begin studying computer science at the University of British Columbia on a full scholarship, as a recipient of the Karen McKellin International Leader of Tomorrow Award. Her goal is to encourage other young people, especially girls, to find technology fun.
Students and educators with a valid, accredited email address from a university or education-related field can register to purchase the Jetson Orin Nano or Jetson AGX Orin developer kit at a discounted price. Students and educators based in the US can visit Fun spark to sign up for your discount; residents of other countries must check your eligibility (login required).
Learn more about the NVIDIA Jetson Platform and ai-certification-programs” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Jetson ai Courses and Certifications from NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute.
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