Development of Electric Wheelchair with Input of Force Feedback Joystick

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to realize the high function of an electric wheelchair with the consideration of the driving environment. The orientation sensor is used to comprehend the driving environment. The estimated method can be obtained unknown parameters of the driving environment by the orientation sensor. The developed electric-wheelchair operates by the force-feedback joystick. When the marketed wheelchairs drive on the slope or the side-slope, the wheelchairs flow to the slope lower direction. In this case, the wheelchairs might go to roadway side in JAPAN, and such situations are very dangerous. The force-feedback joystick is developed to avoid dangerous situation. The force-feedback joystick is combined with the orientation sensor to the force feedback of joystick. The effectiveness of the force-feedback joystick is confirmed by comparison experiments with the control performance of the wheelchair without the force feedback. Therefore, this study is expected to be useful to social welfare in the future.