2024 Paralympics Get Underway
The summer Paralympic Games are underway in Paris, where hundreds of elite athletes with disabilities will compete in 22 sports.
Access Mobility Management’s Paralympics primer for information on how to view the Games and when your favorite sports will be contested. Competition continues through Sept. 8.
Dax the Robot Looks for Sidewalk Accessibility Issues
Check out this WSOC-TV video of a robot named Dax examining the accessibility of sidewalks in Morgantown, North Carolina.
The photogenic, 36-inch-tall, 24-inch wide robot is the creation of Daxbot, headquartered in Philomath, Oregon. In addition to looking for potentially inaccessible sidewalks, Dax — described by its creators as “an AI service robot designed for urban spaces” — can perform security patrols and deliver groceries, library books, and restaurant takeout.
The Daxbot website says Dax “shouldn’t currently go over curbs, but can go over potholes up to 10 cm deep and stay upright on uneven terrain.” Dax moves out of the way of pedestrians and wheelchair riders, and has a top cruising speed of 4 mph with a standard 2.5-mile range.
Brothers Joseph and Kevin Sullivan founded Daxbot in 2015 and launched Dax in 2021.
The company’s founders noted that Dax’s rather adorable appearance — which resembles Pixar’s WALL-E — is intentional. “Rule #1 from the start was that Dax had to be people oriented, so we hired a designer and took a design-first approach to building it,” the website said. “That’s why Dax has a neck. Most engineers want to cover Dax with cameras and sensors, like a fly with 100 eyes. That’s creepy. We gave Dax two eyes and a neck so you can see where it’s looking.”
