Towards a New Modality-Independent Interface for a Robotic Wheelchair

Abstract

This work presents the development of a robotic wheelchair that can be commanded by users in a supervised way or by a fully automatic unsupervised navigation system. It provides flexibility to choose different modalities to command the wheelchair, in addition to be suitable for people with different levels of disabilities. Users can command the wheelchair based on their eye blinks, eye movements, head movements, by sip-and-puff and through brain signals. The wheelchair can also operate like an auto-guided vehicle, following metallic tapes, or in an autonomous way. The system is provided with an easy to use and flexible graphical user interface onboard a personal digital assistant, which is used to allow users to choose commands to be sent to the robotic wheelchair. Several experiments were carried out with people with disabilities, and the results validate the developed system as an assistive tool for people with distinct levels of disability.

Prototype of a Wheelchair Controlled by Cervical Movements

“…The motivation in the use of this algorithm is the simplicity and effectiveness in controlling applications with dominant dynamics of first and second order [14] . The algorithm can be summarized by Equation 6.…”

“…Several researches, based on wheelchairs, were presented in [6] such as a wheelchair developed by Madarasz (1986) equipped with ultrasonic sensors which allows the user to navigate in corridors. The project OMNI (Office wheelchair with high Maneuverability and Navigational Intelligence) of University of Hagen (1999) had the functionality of omnidirectional steering and ultrasonic and infrared detectors enabling real-time obstacle avoidance and back tracing.…”

“…In this same article [6] is presented a project which allows the user controls the movements of the wheelchair in different manners, as follows: eye blinks, eye movements, head movements, sip-and-puff, EEG and face movements.…”

Gaze-based, Context-aware Robotic System for Assisted Reaching and Grasping

“…When it comes to patients with movement disabilities, there is work on the use of gaze patterns in rehabilitation [24], for the control of 2 degrees of freedom in upper limb exoskeletons, where the patient uses gaze to direct the robot on a 2D surface. There is also work in assistive robotics in the form of tele-operated robots and wheelchairs controlled through gaze [25]- [29]. We aim to expand the research into 3D gaze monitoring for within assistive robotics for the restoration of reaching and grasping.…”

Interface Assistiva Para Interação Com Ambiente Através De Movimento De Cabeça Para Cadeirantes

“…Há na literatura uma grande quantidade de estudos que visa quantificar formas de expressar comandos em sistemas de interface humano computador usando sinais biológicos, como: eletroencefalografia -EEG [5], eletromiografia de superfície -EMG [6], rastreamento do olhar [7], interfaces híbridas EEG/EMG [8], entre outros [9], objetivando encontrar soluções para proporcionar um maior conforto para as pessoas debilitadas. Em 2016, Bissoli et al [10] propuseram uma solução que permite a interação de cadeirantes com eletrodomésticos residenciais através de uma interface capaz de utilizar a direção do olhar para controlar um cursor no display, selecionando objetos residenciais desejados e interagindo com eles através de uma caixa inteligente proposta por eles.…”