AI Suitcase

A suitcase-shaped autonomous navigation robot for blind and low-vision travellers, developed as an open research platform by IBM Research, Carnegie Mellon University, Miraikan (the Japanese National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation), and project partners. The user holds the suitcase's handle and walks with it as they would with a rolling suitcase, while the robot uses LiDAR, RGB-D cameras, and a high-resolution indoor map to guide them to a destination, avoid obstacles, and announce points of interest. Field deployments have taken place in museums, shopping malls, and airports. The AI Suitcase is significant as a proof of concept that a blend-in, everyday-looking form factor can deliver autonomous indoor navigation without the stigma or bulk of purpose-built guide robots.