Mobility Assistance Design of the Intelligent Robotic Wheelchair

This paper presents the development of the “intelligent Robotic Wheelchair” ( iRW), emphasizing its mobility assistance design. The vehicle uses four Mecanum wheels to facilitate movement in all directions, including sideways, and zero radius of rotation. The iRW requires much less space than ordinary electric wheelchairs in turning and sideways manoeuvres. Based on this moving vehicle, mobility assistance functions are designed for three different operators: the wheelchair user, caregivers, and the iRW itself in autonomous behaviours. Five operation modes, all mutually exclusive, are developed: obstacle avoidance, joystick mode, handlebar mode, teleoperation, and indoor navigation. Man-machine collaborative control is reflected in the assignment of priorities to the three operators. The functional test performed in this research compared the operational efficiency of the five operation modes.