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Abstract-Intelligent wheelchairs (IWs) can become an important solution to the challenge of assisting individuals who have disabilities and are thus unable to perform their daily activities using classic powered wheelchairs . This article describes the concept and design of IntellWheels, a modular platform to facilitate the development of IWs through a multiagent system paradigm. In fact, modularity is achieved not only in the software perspective, but also through a generic hardware framework that was designed to fit, in a straightforward manner, almost any commercial powere d wheelchair. Experimental results demonstrate the successful integration of all modules in the platform, providing safe motion to the IW. Furthermore, the results achieved with a prototype running in autonomous mode in simulated and mixed-reality environments also demonstrate the potential of our approach. Although some future research is still necessary to fully accomplish our objectives, preliminary tests have show n that IntellWheels will effectively reduce users' limitations, offering them a much more independent life.

Many of the physically injured use electric wheelchairs as an aid to locomotion. Usually, for commanding this type of wheelchair, it is required the use of one's hands and this poses a problem to those who, besides being unable to use their legs, are also unable to properly use their hands. The aim of the work described here, is to create a prototype of a wheelchair command interface that do not require hand usage. Facial expressions were chosen instead, to provide the necessary visual information for the interface to recognize user commands. The facial expressions are captured by means of a digital camera and interpreted by an application running on a laptop computer on the wheelchair. The software includes digital image processing algorithms for feature detection, such as colour segmentation and edge detection, followed by the application of a neural network that uses these features to detect the desired facial expressions. The results obtained from the framework interface provide strong evidence that it is possible to comfortably drive an intelligent wheelchair using facial expressions.

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