HOME HEALTHCARE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES: Smart wheelchair

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Smart wheelchair

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A smart wheelchair is any motorized platform with a chair designed to assist a user with a physical disability, where an artificial control system augments or replaces user control ^[1]. Its purpose is to reduce or eliminate the user's task of driving a motorized wheelchair. Usually, a smart wheelchair is controlled by a computer, has a suite of sensors and applies techniques in mobile robotics, but this is not necessary. The interface may consist of a conventional wheelchair joystick , or it may be a "sip-and-puff" device or a touch-sensitive display connected to a computer. This is different from a conventional motorized or electric wheelchair, in which the user exerts manual control over motor speed and direction via a joystick or other switch- or potentiometer-based device, without intervention by the wheelchair's control system.
Smart wheelchairs usually employ sonar, infrared sensors or laser rangefinders to detect obstacles and modify the user's intended drive command to ensure that the platform does not collide with them. Some smart wheelchairs may be equipped with robotic manipulators, used to manipulate common household objects or grasp door handles, for example, and some may employ computer vision techniques to visually detect obstacles or landmarks to assist in navigation.
Smart wheelchairs are designed for a variety of user types. Some platforms are designed for users with cognitive impairments, such as dementia, where these typically apply collision-avoidance techniques to ensure that users do not accidentally select a drive command that results in a collision. Other platforms focus on users living with severe motor disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, or with paraplegia, and the role of the smart wheelchair is to interpret small muscular activations as high-level commands and execute them. Such platforms typically employ techniques from artificial intelligence, such as path-planning, artificial reasoning, and behavior-based control.