Electric Wheelchair Hybrid Operating System Coordinated with Working Range of a Robotic Arm

Abstract

Electric wheelchair-mounted robotic arms can help patients with disabilities to perform their activities in daily living (ADL). Joysticks or keypads are commonly used as the operating interface of Wheelchair-mounted robotic arms. Under different scenarios, some patients with upper limb disabilities such as finger contracture cannot operate such interfaces smoothly. Recently, manual interfaces for different symptoms to operate the wheelchair-mounted robotic arms are being developed. However, the stop the wheelchairs in an appropriate position for the robotic arm grasping task is still not easy. To reduce the individual’s burden in operating wheelchair in narrow spaces and to ensure that the chair always stops within the working range of a robotic arm, we propose here an operating system for an electric wheelchair that can automatically drive itself to within the working range of a robotic arm by capturing the position of an AR marker via a chair-mounted camera. Meanwhile, the system includes an error correction model to correct the wheelchair’s moving error. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system by running the wheelchair and simulating the robotic arm through several courses.

Revolutionizing Accessibility: Smart Wheelchair Robot and Mobile Application for Mobility, Assistance, and Home Management

“…Many researchers have developed wheelchairs for helping patients [22], [23], [24], [25], [93], [94]. A very comprehensive analysis of the wheelchair review was completed by many researchers.…”

Development of a Virtual Environment-Based Electrooculogram Control System for Safe Electric Wheelchair Mobility for Individuals with Severe Physical Disabilities

“…Besides the problem of access to wheelchairs, these individuals are also faced with issues related to control mechanisms. The conventional wheelchair is designed to be operated using joysticks or be externally propelled by an attendant [6]- [9]. In the case of terminally disabled individuals, who have lost partial or complete control of their physical limbs, the use of joystick-operated wheelchairs is very challenging.…”