Intelligent control of the steering for a powered wheelchair using a microcomputer

Malik Haddad, David Sanders, Martin Langner, Nils Bausch, Mohamad Thabet, Alexander Gegov, Giles Tewkesbury, Favour Ikwan

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Published conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

The research presented in this paper describes a new architecture for controlling powered wheelchairs. A Raspberry Pi microcomputer is considered to assist in controlling direction. A Raspberry Pi is introduced between user input switches and powered wheelchair motors to create an intelligent Human Machine Interface (HCI). An electronic circuit is designed that consists of an ultrasonic sensor array and a set of control relays. The sensors delivered information about obstructions in the surrounding environment of the wheelchair. Python programming language was used to create a program that digitized the user switches output and assessed information provided by the ultrasonic sensor array. The program was installed on a Raspberry Pi and the Raspberry Pi controlled power delivered to the motors. Tests were conducted and results showed that the new system successfully assisted a wheelchair user in avoiding obstacles. The new architecture can be used to intelligently interface any input device or sensor system to powered wheelchair.
Original languageUndefined
Title of host publicationIntelligent Systems and Applications
Subtitle of host publicationProceedings of the 2020 Intelligent Systems Conference (IntelliSys) Volume 3
EditorsKohei Arai, Supriya Kapoor, Rahul Bhatia
Place of PublicationCham
PublisherSpringer International Publishing AG
Pages594-603
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)978-3-030-55190-2
ISBN (Print)978-3-030-55189-6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 Aug 2020
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameAdvances in Intelligent Systems and Computing
ISSN (Print)2194-5357
ISSN (Electronic)2194-5365

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