Shared control policies for safe wheelchair navigation of elderly adults with cognitive and mobility impairments: Designing a wizard of oz study

Older adults often lack the ability or strength to walk or to self-propel in manual wheelchairs. However, the need for a significant level of cognitive capacity to safely operate current powered wheelchair technology tends to exclude users with cognitive impairments. The resulting lack of mobility for a significant proportion of elderly residents in long term care leads to negative social, mental and physical outcomes. In this paper, we review shared (or collaborative) control policies implemented by smart wheelchair prototypes that have been tested by participants from their target populations, and highlight key usability findings and clinical insights. We discuss desirable features for control policies in new intelligent wheelchairs for cognitively impaired older adults. We then propose a method to evaluate these policies in a Wizard of Oz study conducted with cognitively impaired participants living in long term care facilities.