A low-cost assistive wheelchair for handicapped & elderly people

Abstract

In this paper, a mixed control wheelchair (MCW) is presented to overcome problem related to movement and user command for elderly and paralyzed people. The MCW comprises of five individual control blocks, which are fed at the main control unit to provide appropriate control actions. The main feature of this assistive device is that it can navigate by following the eyesight of the user. The proposed MCW can also be controlled using either joystick or voice command or finger movement or through mobile app or a combination of all. This system uses multiple sensor networks to measure the terrain condition, users command and translate it into control action. The proposed control system runs on a Raspberry Pi, which can able to take a proper turn as well as capable to control forward or backward motion. Raspberry Pi, camera module and sensors networks, etc. were all connected into the android mobile system, shortening the physical distance between the disabled person end and the supervisor end and serial communication was used. Multiple-Layer system architecture with outstanding control functions was constructed that uses android mobile interfacing to realize the automatic control and capture videos of the room remotely. It is shown that the users can carry out all essential tasks with the proposed MCW, almost as fast as with the traditional controller. The smart wheelchair can assist elderly people and also improve their quality of life.