Researchers in India have developed a wheelchair navigation system that incorporates additional safety features and warning systems that will help users more effectively than any other existing system integrated into normal motorized wheelchairs. The system is based on a microcontroller programmed by an algorithm that includes six levels of detecting the environmental conditions and analyzing the user's voice, an algorithm that makes the wheelchair smart, while receiving what the research team calls a 'cognitive navigation system for a wheelchair'
[Translation by Dr. Nachmani Moshe]
Researchers from India are developing a wheelchair that can independently avoid obstacles on the road and will know when the user is tired or stressed. The details of the invention are described in the journal International Journal of Human Factors Modeling and Simulation.
Researcher Naveen Kumar Malik of the Department of Electronics and Communications at Maharishi Dayanand University and researcher VR Singh of the National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi, India, explain how they are developing a wheelchair navigation system that incorporates additional safety features and alert systems that will assist users more effectively than any other existing system integrated into conventional motorized wheelchairs . The system is based on a microcontroller programmed by an algorithm that includes six levels of detecting the environmental conditions and analyzing the user's voice, an algorithm that makes the wheelchair smart, while receiving what the research team calls a 'cognitive navigation system for a wheelchair'.
The system provides an answer to a number of problems faced by wheelchair users and the caregivers of people who move in such chairs, when normal motorized or manual wheelchairs are used, especially for weak users or those who have a cognitive disability. The new microcontroller system provides the smart wheelchair with an alert system to prevent a collision as well as a system that detects mental distress or low alertness in the user and provides a warning to the user or caregivers regarding possible problems that may arise from such situations. The new wheelchair will also be able to monitor the heart rate, temperature and other vital indicators of the user for medical diagnosis.
The research team has already built and demonstrated the performance of a prototype of its smart wheelchair and the researchers hope to commercialize their invention soon. "The commercial version of the wheelchair will reduce the burden on the care team in the health and medical sector and improve the quality of life of the mobility impaired," say the researchers.
