Comparison of Manual, Automatic, and Voice Control in Wheelchair NavigationSimulation in Virtual Environments: Performance Evaluation of User and MotionSickness.

Abstract

Mobility is a fundamental necessity for individuals with physical disabilities, and wheelchairs play a vital role in improving their quality of life. In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in designing and developing more advanced wheelchairs, particularly regarding control systems that enable users to interact effectively and efficiently with their chairs. Implementing different control systems in wheelchairs has been the subject of research and development to enhance user experience and overcome limitations associated with conventional controls. Virtual reality (VR) is a valuable tool for testing new technologies, ensuring user safety, and reducing development time. This article aims to present a comparative evaluation of various controls implemented in a simulated wheelchair, analyzing their effectiveness and ease of use through navigation in three different daily-life scenarios. Twenty participants(11 males and 9 females) received VR operation and controls training. Each participant completed three tests per control in each scenario. The results showed that participants performed better while navigating with autonomous and manual controls than with voice controls. However, participants experienced associated motion sickness during the interaction. Contrary to voice control, despite causing less motion sickness, the participants' performance shows that a high voice command recognition rate and reliability are mandatory to be a viable option. Our setup represents a useful experimental setup for future research and improvements in developing wheelchair control systems in virtual environments to cater to the individual needs and abilities of end-users in reality.