Patent ID: 8418705

Claim:
A robotic cane comprising: a grip handle; a cane body extending from the grip handle at a first end of the cane body; a motorized omni-directional wheel coupled to a second end of the cane body; a balance control sensor, wherein the balance control sensor provides a balance signal corresponding to an orientation of the robotic cane; and a controller module, wherein the controller module: receives the balance signal from the balance control sensor; calculates a balancing velocity of the motorized omni-directional wheel based at least in part on the balance signal and an inverted pendulum control algorithm; and provides a drive signal to the motorized omni-directional wheel in accordance with the calculated balancing velocity, wherein the calculated balancing velocity relates to a speed and direction of the motorized omni-directional wheel to retain the robotic cane in a substantially upright position.