Design and fabrication of solar powered wheelchair

Abstract

As per the census, 2011 in 2016 disabled population of India was around 2.66 Cr and currently, it is about 3 Cr, talking about the physically disabled the count is 54,36,826. Around 70–75% are above 15 years of age. Conventional manual wheelchairs need to be handled by the other person ultimately they have to rely on others for their movement and daily activities which may cause mental depression among them and sometimes they hesitate to ask for help so electric wheelchair is the best option in this situation. But due to the continuous decline of fossil fuels, there is a need to find alternative renewable sources; here solar energy is a good solution. In this paper, study shows conventional wheelchairs and their conversion into an electric wheelchair which is semi-automated using sensors and controllers. This paper studies power consumption and shows that by using renewable sources of energy we can save 60–70% of the energy and once the battery is charged it will give 3–4 h of runtime. From the following research study, it can be concluded that designed wheelchair is having good features and would be very convenient and friendly to the aged people and handicapped. The device will be very useful to people suffering from disabilities and physical problems that they can take advantage of, as well as an eco-friendly device that works on renewable sources of energy. The frequency of charging is acceptable, improving the present scenario in said area of research.