High School Innovator Develops Robot Guide Dogs Using NVIDIA Jetson

High
school
student
Selin
Alara
Ornek
is
pushing
the
boundaries
of
robotics
and
AI
by
developing
robot
guide
dogs
for
the
visually
impaired.
Utilizing
the
NVIDIA
Jetson
platform,
Ornek’s
project,
named
IC4U,
is
designed
to
provide
a
reliable
companion
for
those
in
need,
according
to

NVIDIA
Blog.

About
the
Maker

Ornek,
a
high
school
senior
from
Istanbul,
Turkey,
has
a
profound
interest
in
AI,
social
good,
and
robotics.
A
self-taught
developer,
she
has
been
recognized
globally
for
her
work,
including
accolades
at
the
European
Youth
Awards
and
Women
in
Tech
Global
Awards.
Her
other
notable
projects
include
BB4All,
a
school
aid
robot
aimed
at
preventing
bullying
through
real-time
notifications
and
health
monitoring.

Her
Inspiration

The
inspiration
for
IC4U
came
during
a
trip
to
France,
where
Ornek
observed
a
guide
dog
assisting
its
owner.
This
experience,
along
with
the
memory
of
her
late
dog
Korsan,
motivated
her
to
create
a
robotic
solution
that
could
serve
as
a
reliable
guide
for
visually
impaired
individuals.

“I
started
to
think
about
if
a
visually
impaired
person
lost
their
dog,
not
only
would
they
lose
their
best
friend,
but
their
eyes,”
Ornek
said.

Her
Jetson
Project

Initially,
IC4U
used
ultrasonic
sensors
to
detect
obstacles.
However,
after
attending
the
2021
World
Summit
AI,
Ornek
decided
to
enhance
the
robot’s
capabilities.
She
integrated
sound
sensors
and
a
ZED
2i
Wide-Angle
3D
AI
camera,
allowing
IC4U
to
process
a
wider
range
of
visual
data
and
better
mimic
the
behavior
of
a
real
guide
dog.

“To
power
the
ZED
2i
camera
and
for
high-quality
image
processing,
I
used
an
NVIDIA
Jetson
Nano
developer
kit,”
Ornek
stated.
The
enhanced
data
processing
enables
IC4U
to
detect
city
objects
like
stop
signs,
traffic
lights,
and
even
the
denomination
of
paper
money.

Ornek
has
also
added
a
shopping
feature
to
IC4U
through
web
scraping,
with
plans
to
expand
this
capability
by
partnering
with
online
retail
stores.

Back
to
School

Looking
ahead,
Ornek
aims
to
deploy
IC4U
in
smart
cities
and
further
explore
AI
applications
using
next-generation
platforms
like
Jetson
Orin.
This
fall,
she
will
begin
her
studies
in
computer
science
at
the
University
of
British
Columbia
on
a
full
scholarship,
awarded
the
Karen
McKellin
International
Leader
of
Tomorrow
Award.

Students
and
educators
interested
in
exploring
AI
and
robotics
can
sign
up
to
purchase
NVIDIA
Jetson
developer
kits
at
a
discounted
rate.
U.S.-based
students
can
visit
Sparkfun,
while
international
students
can
check
their
eligibility
for
discounts
through
the
NVIDIA
store.

Image
source:
Shutterstock