걷다가 '꽝'...노인 교통사고 막는다<br /><br />More than half of all elderly people experience traffic accidents due to a decline in their physical and cognitive abilities.<br />Korean researchers have developed a customized device to help elderly pedestrians to get around more safely.<br />Park Se-young has more. <br />Around 37-hundred people were killed in traffic accidents in 2018.<br />Of them, 45 percent were pedestrians aged 65 or above.<br />Due to physical and cognitive decline, more than half of the elderly population get in traffic accidents.<br />"A motorcycle sprang out on the street a couple of days ago and we almost crashed. My hearing has gone bad and so has my judgment."<br />To help the elderly get around safely, Korean researchers have developed a mobility scooter with autonomous vehicle technology.<br />Based on the analysis of movements, the scooter is shaped and sized to fit the driver.<br />It's equipped with ultrasonic sensors, laser sensors and a stereo camera to detect obstacles and slopes.<br />The scooter does not speed up when going downhill, …and automatically slows down with sound alerts when obstacles come within two-point-eight meters.<br />"It does not slow down when going uphill and goes at a fixed speed …so that older people with cognitive impairment can drive intuititively."<br />When the drivers choose their desired speed, the scooter can drive autonomously at that speed.<br />When commercialized, the researchers believe it will help elderly people to get around more easily and safely.<br />Park Se-young, Arirang News. <br />
