Modeling of a stair-climbing wheelchair mechanism with high single-step capability

Abstract

In the field of providing mobility for the elderly and disabled, the aspect of dealing with stairs continues largely unresolved. This paper focuses on presenting the development of a stair-climbing wheelchair mechanism with high single-step capability. The mechanism is based on front and rear wheel clusters connected to the base (chair) via powered linkages so as to permit both autonomous stair ascent and descent in the forward direction, and high single-step functionality for such as direct entry to and from a van. Primary considerations were inherent stability, provision of a mechanism that is physically no larger than a standard powered wheelchair, aesthetics, and being based on readily available low-cost components.

Design and Development of Adjustable Stair Climbing Robot

“…One application of such a technique is inpatient rehabilitation, where stair climbing could greatly enhance mobility, and thus quality of life, of people confined to wheelchairs. Lawn and Shiatsu [1] present a stair-climbing wheelchair using two (forward and rear) articulated wheel clusters attached to movable appendages. The robot is equipped with step-contact sensors, but relies on user steering and is thus only semi-autonomous.…”

Autonomous Stair Climbing for Tracked Vehicles

“…In order to discard conspicuous outliers, we do not consider lines that are shorter than lines above them in an image. This constraint arises from the geometry of the projection model, which dictates that lines that are closer to the robot (and thus lower in the image) should appear larger 4 . Moreover, we employ a median filter to compute the median ratio estimate from all the lines detected in the last five image frames.…”

Collision avoidance between a wheelchair front wheels and a step wall during step climbing using a care robot

“…Some reasons for the wheelchair's difficulty include driving wheel slippage and/or vehicle imbalance. Numerous research programs aimed at improving wheelchair mobility on steps have been conducted, and the following potential solutions have been investigated: additional legs [2], multiple wheels and variable wheelbases [3], a combination of an adjustable center of gravity (COG) and multiple wheels [4], tracked vehicles [5], an additional driving wheel system [6], and changing the wheelchair posture to facilitate climbing [7]. In addition, Yoshikazu Mori studied a new step climbing and descending strategy using a manual wheelchair equipped with linear actuator mechanisms and a light portable ramp [8].…”