Conventional Wheelchair Research Articles

Ergonomic Wheelchair for Paraplegic Dogs with Resting Mechanism

After the development of specific wheelchairs for dogs, the quality of life of these animals with locomotor disabilities has improved considerably. However, even with the many benefits provided to dogs, canine wheelchairs can present some inconveniences to the animals that use them. An example of this is conventional wheelchairs, which do not have a resting mechanism, causing the animal to spend a long time without resting, which veterinarians consider to be very harmful to the health of the disabled animal. In light of the described problem, this project consists of the study of canine wheelchairs and the development of a wheelchair prototype with a resting mechanism so that the animal can rest without being removed from the chair, aiming to provide greater comfort to the animal and practicality to the owner. Additionally, the report presents the choice of ideal materials to be used in wheelchairs for dogs, in order to provide better ergonomics and experience for the animal during the use of the product. Finally, the use of rapid prototyping in the production of some parts made in 3D printers is also detailed in the report, along with presenting the assembly processes of the wheelchair prototype.

User Interface and Navigation System for an Electric Vehicle for the Disabled

The purpose of this work is to link a natural user interface and an autonomous navigation system to a conventional wheelchair with two control modalities: manual and automatic. It is taken into account that not all people have the same type or degree of disability, for this reason we seek to implement a user interface that involves different forms of user-machine interaction, with which the user can choose the manual mode that allows direct commands to control the movement of the chair and the automatic mode, which only needs the point or place where you need to go and through predefined trajectories, the autonomous navigation system will execute the necessary movements for the chair to follow the desired route.

Evaluation of Conventional and Smart Wheelchair Technologies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

A significant number of people depend on the help of others to facilitate their mobility in wheelchairs. Physical disabilities hinder the mobility of persons with disabilities, making them unable to move around using conventional (manually operated) wheelchairs. Furthermore, people lack the ability to regain an upright posture if the chair falls. This study aims to evaluate conventional and smart wheelchair technologies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This study was conducted through a quantitative and cross-sectional research methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of wheelchair technologies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is done by collecting data from wheelchair users, experts, and specialists in this field, such as medical engineers and others familiar with wheelchairs. The evaluation included the opinions of users and experts on the use of traditional and smart chairs in terms of the technologies used, ease of use, advantages, disadvantages, etc. More than 590 users and experts from all regions of the Kingdom participated in the study, and their answers were characterized by objectivity and realism. About 39% of participants indicated that smart wheelchairs are very effective, and 37.6% confirmed that these chairs can be used on many surfaces, while 23.4% expressed their appreciation that smart wheelchairs are useful for various purposes and terrains. On the other hand, the results showed that smart wheelchairs had high purchase and maintenance costs of 37.4%. This was followed by concerns about more maintenance requirements (23.5%), the need for constant charging (20.4%), and the need for users to be aware of energy use (18.7%). The results show some advantages of using traditional wheelchairs, such as low maintenance, lightweight, and often affordability. This type of chair faces many difficulties, such as crossing slopes and long distances, requiring some strength for use, and users needing assistance to move around. The study revealed significant progress in wheelchair technology, especially in smartphones and navigation. Evaluating existing wheelchair technology in Saudi Arabia has shown significant advances, especially in urban areas and healthcare institutions. Motorized electric wheelchairs are becoming increasingly popular due to their ability to enhance users’ mobility. However, the availability of high-end wheelchair models and their accompanying accessories remains limited.

Development of a Virtual Environment-Based Electrooculogram Control System for Safe Electric Wheelchair Mobility for Individuals with Severe Physical Disabilities

Conventional wheelchairs are predominantly manual or joystick-operated electric wheelchairs. However, operating these wheelchairs can be difficult or impossible for individuals with severe physical disabilities. Due to losing control of their physical limbs, they depend on an attendant for assistance. As a remedy, bio-signals may be used as a control mechanism since they are readily available and can be acquired from any body part. This research proposes to use EOG signals to vail a control mechanism and test it in a virtual and actual electric wheelchair. The main contribution of the study is an investigation of the use of EOG to control an electric wheelchair in a virtual environment to determine safe control parameters for wheelchair use in complex environments. A customized data acquisition circuit was developed to acquire single-channel EOG signals using wet electrodes. The acquired signal was filtered and processed using feature extraction and classification techniques in MATLAB software. Two customized control environments were developed in Unity 3D, one with equally partitioned sections and the other with sections decreasing in size as the robot wheelchair approaches the target. Twenty-two test subjects (mean age 24.5, std 1.5) participated in the study, controlling the robot wheelchair in real-time with non or least instances of collision and oversteering. The system achieved an accuracy of 96.5% with a response time of 0.7s, translating to an ITR of 70.6 bits/min. Overall, the participants managed to navigate the virtual environment with a completion time of 101.94s ± 19.71 and 109.07s ± 13.25 for the male and female participants, respectively. In the scene with decreasing section sizes, 72% and 54% instances of collision and oversteering were reported, respectively, highlighting the need to consider the complexity of the control environment and the sufficiency of the participants' control skills to ensure safety in operations. The results confirm the usefulness of EOG as a control interface, with little or no need for recalibration. It provides a promising avenue for individuals with severe physical disabilities to operate wheelchairs independently in complex environments, enhancing their quality of life.

Design and fabrication of solar powered wheelchair

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.

Experimental study on a novel manual wheelchair

BACKGROUND: Traditional manual wheelchair users suffer from upper limbs injuries due to the propulsion gesture. OBJECTIVE: This paper presents the experimental activity addressed to define the dynamic characteristics of a novel manual wheelchair. The design and realization of the wheelchair aim to reduce injuries of the upper limbs related to conventional wheelchairs. A new index called Peak Of Force, POF, is defined and applied to the different wheelchair manual propulsion systems. METHODS: The wheelchair speed and the left and right-hand forces exerted by the user are monitored. The tests have been performed by changing the transmission ratio of the wheelchair and the wheelchair speed. RESULTS: The indices MEF and FEF are lower than 100% due to the lateral and radial forces for hand-rim wheelchairs and handbikes. For Handwheelchair.Q these indices are equal to 100%. The mean value of index POF for Handwheelchair.Q is 51.75%, while it is about 42.5% for the hand-rim wheelchair, and 57.6% for the handbike. CONCLUSIONS: The user forces for Handwheelchair.Q depend on the wheelchair speed and the pulley radius. The larger pulley radius reduces the average and the maximum force. A variable transmission ratio can be implemented on the proposed wheelchair.

Vehicle-ride sensation sharing system with stereoscopic 3D visual perception and vibro-vestibular feedback for immersive remote collaboration

In this study, using a personal vehicle (i.e. Segway) and a wheelchair-type motion display, we proposed a vehicle-ride sensation sharing system to enable a local rider to collaborate with a remote driver immersively. The local rider sitting in the motion display can receive both the 3D visual perception and the vibro-vestibular sensation. The remote driver side of the system was developed by attaching the Segway with two 360-degree cameras and a stabilizer to capture stereoscopic 3D images and send them to each eye of a head-mounted display worn by a local rider. By modifying a conventional wheelchair with a simple, lightweight mechanism for actuation and vibration by two DC motors, we developed the prototype of the vibro-vestibular display for local riders. Then, we investigated the effectiveness of a vibro-vestibular wheelchair. The result showed that the acceleration/deceleration of the wheelchair proportional to that of visual cue could significantly reduce virtual reality (VR) sickness by approximately 54% and increase the sense of riding a vehicle by approximately 2.25 times. Moreover, we conducted a demo experience in SIGGRAPH ASIA 2019 for 3 days and 89 participants filled the questionnaire related to our system validation. The results suggested that vibro-vestibular feedback by the wheelchair is important for remote collaboration that uses a mobile vehicle.

Wheelchair Assistance and Guidance Using IOT

A Smart Wheelchair is a Power Wheelchair with numerous sensors, assistive technology, and computers built in that allow a disabled person to travel around freely and safely. People with disabilities, such as impairments, handicaps, and life-altering injuries, are the users. The conventional wheelchairs are being increasingly replaced by these new models. Only 5 to 15% of the 70 million disabled individuals worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), have access to wheelchairs. As a result, we must supply a cost-effective Smart that uses cutting-edge components and technology while keeping costs to a minimum. They have embraced a number of technologies, including artificial intelligence, where they created an autonomous wheelchair that used machine learning principles to travel. Some of them have also used the Internet of Things to manage the wheelchair using a voice recognition system. This report will outline an inexpensive Smart Wheelchair-based Arduino Nano microcontroller and Internet of Things (IoT) technology that has a number of features to help disabled people, particularly poor people who cannot afford an expensive Smart Wheelchair, get the assistance they need to complete daily tasks without help. As a result of this project, a variety of disabled people will be able to afford smart wheelchairs. It will be powered by Arduino Nano, ESP-12e module for Wi-Fi access, MPU6050 for fall detection with voice message notification using IFTTT platform, obstacle detection with buzzer and LED for hazard detection, voice recognition system, and joysticks for wheelchair control.

A novel push\u2013pull central-lever mechanism reduces peak forces and energy-cost compared to hand-rim wheelchair propulsion during a controlled lab-based experiment

BackgroundHand-rim wheelchair propulsion is straining and mechanically inefficient, often leading to upper limb complaints. Previous push–pull lever propulsion mechanisms have shown to perform better or equal in efficiency and physiological strain. Propulsion biomechanics have not been evaluated thus far. A novel push–pull central-lever propulsion mechanism is compared to conventional hand-rim wheelchair propulsion, using both physiological and biomechanical outcomes under low-intensity steady-state conditions on a motor driven treadmill.MethodsIn this 5 day (distributed over a maximum of 21 days) between-group experiment, 30 able-bodied novices performed 60 min (5 × 3 × 4 min) of practice in either the push–pull central lever wheelchair (n = 15) or the hand-rim wheelchair (n = 15). At the first and final sessions cardiopulmonary strain, propulsion kinematics and force production were determined in both instrumented propulsion mechanisms. Repeated measures ANOVA evaluated between (propulsion mechanism type), within (over practice) and interaction effects.ResultsOver practice, both groups significantly improved on all outcome measures. After practice the peak forces during the push and pull phase of lever propulsion were considerably lower compared to those in the handrim push phase (42 ± 10 & 46 ± 10 vs 63 ± 21N). Concomitantly, energy expenditure was found to be lower as well (263 ± 45 vs 298 ± 59W), on the other hand gross mechanical efficiency (6.4 ± 1.5 vs 5.9 ± 1.3%), heart-rate (97 ± 10 vs 98 ± 10 bpm) and perceived exertion (9 ± 2 vs 10 ± 1) were not significantly different between modes.ConclusionThe current study shows the potential benefits of the newly designed push–pull central-lever propulsion mechanism over regular hand rim wheelchair propulsion. The much lower forces and energy expenditure might help to reduce the strain on the upper extremities and thus prevent the development of overuse injury. This proof of concept in a controlled laboratory experiment warrants continued experimental research in wheelchair-users during daily life.

Design and Implementation of Voice Controlled Wheelchair using MATLAB

Most physically challenged people to rely on others for their motion and the number of such people is increasing day by day. Manual Wheelchairs are quite difficult to operate by physically challenged people as they require force for the motion. To overcome this drawback, conventional wheelchairs or powered wheelchairs are available in the markets. Even if they are meant to design for the comfort of users they are quite expensive, so not every physically challenged can afford them. To reduce the percentage of use of a manual wheelchair and to give physically challenged people a better experience and comfort in an affordable manner we have proposed this model. Our proposed model is based on neural networks and the backpropagation algorithm is used as a medium to train the Artificial neural networks which are trained by the user’s voice command so it uses voice recognition as a control mechanism. The proposed prototype is been trained with five voice commands such as (Forward, Backward, Left, Right, and Stop). These voice commands are successfully identified and converted to text. The following text is further written on target hardware wirelessly by using a Bluetooth module for the motion of DC Motors to control the directions of a wheelchair. The entire prototype is been designed on Matlab R2020a and Arduino UNO as target hardware. The main aim of our proposed work is to develop a smart wheelchair that overcomes the problems of existing systems and should be easy, impressionable, and convenient for physically challenged people.

Innovative Folding Bed Cum Chair Based on IoT-Cloud Technology

Aim: The method of utilization of IoT and other evolving techniques in medical equipment design field is discussed in the present paper. A remotely managed interface equipped in a wheelchair cum bed is embedded for elderly or physically challenged people. With the help of a camera embedded in the proposed solution, a real-time remote monitoring of the patient is achieved using an android application on the concerned person. For achieving the above mentioned purpose, the use of linear actuators has been done. This paper further aims to explore the hidden potentials of the merger of all these fields to benefit the end users. Objectives: Remote monitoring of health of the patient through a cloud-based android application. Automatic adjustment of the wheelchair into bed and vice-versa. Automatic stool passing chamber facility is available under the proposed model. Injuries during transportation of the patient from one chair to another (or chair to bed) have been limited in our designed model. Methods: The basic mechanism of proposed wheelchair has been designed using the computer-aided design software. The basic methodology adopted for development of prototype & subsequent “user review analysis” is displayed. The CAD Model of the wheelchair cum stretcher was designed using the “Solid works solid modelling techniques”. The basic structure has been designed with several modifications when compared to the conventional wheelchair design. The computer made design was then utilized for final fabrication of the prototype. The prototype was tested for endurance, load bearing capacity and customer comfort during various phases of development. The feedbacks of several subjects were recorded for future utilization in improved design & fabrication. Results: The proposed model is of utmost importance as the number of critical patients like accident cases, critical pre and post-surgery cases is increasing day by day. Sometimes these patients need intime medication during transition in ambulance while they are picked up from houses and referred to nearby big hospitals. During transition or in hospital, critical patients can be handled efficiently by a specialist doctor through his/her smart phone applications. It also optimizes the services of specialist doctors as we can find the shortage of specialists in Indian hospitals. In a nutshell, this WheelChair system can be moved anywhere due to its portability. Following are the most highlighted features: 1. Authorized relatives and Doctors can see and interact with the patient remotely at any time on his/her smart phone. 2. Authorized relatives and Doctors can see the Vital Sign of patient like BP, ECG, and Pulse etc. at any time through Smart Phone. 3. Doctor can instruct the caretaker to release the emergency drugs through Infusion Pump. 4. Doctor can plan the exceptions, drug infusion, alarm, etc. 5. System is portable and can easily be shifted to ambulance. All transmissions are wireless, so there is no hassle of wires and connectivity. Conclusion: The presented work is limited to the design and fabrication of a new model of wheelchair, which works as a stretcher and has locomotive capabilities. The key feature of the design is its versatility and adaptability to various working conditions. The feedback obtained from various subjects during the testing of wheelchair shows their confidence and a fair degree of comfort which they felt while using the wheelchair. The easy and user-friendly use of the android application helps to monitor the health of the patient. The smartphone camera helped to achieve this data. The analysis of the data can be done in the cloud-based station. The linear actuator has proved to be the low cost and highly reliable equipment to propel the wheelchair.

Electric Wheelchair Control Using Wrist Rotation Based on Analysis of Muscle Fatigue

The wheelchair is one of the most common assistive technologies for people with motor impairment, due to its environmentally friendly features in terms of mobility and comfort. However, the operational method for conventional wheelchair is still inconvenience for people with finger problems. Therefore, in the project, a novel control method to operate an electric wheelchair, using hand gestures ( wrist rotation) is developed. Sixty-five (65) participants were involved in this study. Five hand gestures were considered and studied for forward, backward, right, left, and stop maneuvers while considering human ergonomics factor. In this study, the stop maneuver was determined based on the most comfortable hand position to mitigate a fatigue experience, with two gesture classifying methods further investigated. The first method based on threshold has a promising accuracy of 96%, and 91% precision. This method however requires a calibration every time a new user is introduced. The second method, a Naïve Bayes approach, was observed to solve the problem, as it has about 99% of both the accuracy and the precision. The evaluation of this method was then conducted with six participants that operated the wheelchair to follow the trajectories from start to end. The results showed that the participants comfortably controlled the developed wheelchair system to the goal without any collision. Results from experiments indicate that the proposed approach has high accuracy and the potential to solve the problem related to finger dependencies and hand fatigue.

Modelling and control strategies for a motorized wheelchair with hybrid locomotion systems

Several kinematic and dynamic models of conventional motorized wheelchairs in the literature presume the wheelchair movement only on flat surfaces, disregarding the effects of gravitational forces and rolling friction. In addition, there are no many studies clearly describing how the dynamic properties of a conventional wheelchair and stair-climbing wheelchair with a track mechanism are formulated. However, the design of a good controller generally involves the formulation of a comprehensive wheelchair model. This work contributes to the modelling of the motorized wheelchair with hybrid locomotion systems (MWHLSs), which have wheel and track mechanisms to move the wheelchair, regarding the formulation of kinematic and dynamic models for each locomotion system, considering the effects of gravitational forces and rolling friction, on flat and inclined surfaces and climbing stairs. From the mathematical model for each locomotion system, the gearmotor torque control is used, since the torque provides smooth and precise driving. Thus, the open-loop and closed-loop control techniques, such as control Lyapunov function, Backstepping control, and Proportional-Integral-Derivative controller, are designed due to their well-known characteristics. The robustness analysis of these controllers, taking into account the occurrence of external disturbances, indicates which one best assists wheelchair users, providing a safer and more efficient navigation with the MWHLS.

A Smart Autonomous WPT System for Electric Wheelchair Applications With Free-Positioning Charging Feature

Electric wheelchairs (EWs) are gradually replacing conventional wheelchairs as an assistive tool for people with disabilities who are unable to use the physical force to drive manual wheelchairs on their own. EW charging requires manipulating, plugging in, and unplugging an off-board charger, which can be challenging or impossible for people with severe disabilities. In this paper, a comprehensive solution to the problem of EW recharging is provided in the form of a smart, autonomous charging system, based on the wireless power transfer (WPT) technology. In this paper, a sufficiently large area of 0.75 m2 for a floor-charging pad involving multiple primary coils has been implemented while offering a free-positioning charging feature. A novel design methodology for primary and secondary charging pads’ optimization has been developed, taking into account various complex real-life constraints. In addition, a novel 250-W WPT controller design has been employed to maximize misalignment tolerance up to 7 cm while maintaining high system efficiency. In this paper, a novel, comprehensive, system-level organization of a master controller design has been presented which manages continuous coordination between the WPT controllers and the autonomous docking controller, records important system data, maintains safe operation of overall system, and prevents hazardous exposure to potentially harmful magnetic field beyond $15~\mu \text{T}$ . In addition, a novel design methodology for primary and secondary charging pads’ optimization has been developed, which takes into account various real-life constraints, and provides a fair comparison between different designs in a multivariable environment. The proposed design is tested in laboratory conditions and later validated in a practical environment.

Evaluation of the Nino® Two-Wheeled Power Mobility Device: A Pilot Study.

Novel technologies such as the Nino® two-wheeled powered mobility device are promoted as offering an intuitive improved experience compared to conventional wheelchair mobility use. The Nino® has a smaller footprint than a power wheelchair, a zero-degree turning radius, tiller-based steering, and relies on the user leaning forwards and back to move and brake. This study aimed to evaluate manual wheelchair users' ability to use the Nino® to complete a variety of wheelchair skills, and also investigated task demand, user confidence, and user perceptions. Twelve participants with a mean of 22 years of experience using a wheelchair completed the study; most had spinal cord injuries and one had multiple sclerosis. Our findings indicate that Wheelchair Skills Test scores were significantly higher for individuals in their manual wheelchair than in the Nino®. Results from the Wheelchair Use Confidence Scale showed that confidence scores increased significantly after completing Nino® training, and that participants were significantly more confident using their manual chair than the Nino®. Cognitive workload, as measured by the NASA-Task Load Index, was significantly higher in the Nino® than in participants' manual wheelchairs. Findings from qualitative interviews suggest that the Nino® is unlikely to be suitable as a functional replacement of an individual's manual wheelchair. Most participants felt unsafe during braking. Other perceptions included that the Nino may be a good alternative for use as a recreational outdoor mobility device, a powered mobility option to help prevent upper extremity overuse injuries, have a positive impact on social interactions, but that a high degree of focus was required during use. In addition to needing to address safety, usability, and functional concerns, the data suggests a clinical focus on training individuals to use these new devices may be necessary for effective community use.

Eye and Voice-Controlled Human Machine Interface System for Wheelchairs Using Image Gradient Approach.

Rehabilitative mobility aids are being used extensively for physically impaired people. Efforts are being made to develop human machine interfaces (HMIs), manipulating the biosignals to better control the electromechanical mobility aids, especially the wheelchairs. Creating precise control commands such as move forward, left, right, backward and stop, via biosignals, in an appropriate HMI is the actual challenge, as the people with a high level of disability (quadriplegia and paralysis, etc.) are unable to drive conventional wheelchairs. Therefore, a novel system driven by optical signals addressing the needs of such a physically impaired population is introduced in this paper. The present system is divided into two parts: the first part comprises of detection of eyeball movements together with the processing of the optical signal, and the second part encompasses the mechanical assembly module, i.e., control of the wheelchair through motor driving circuitry. A web camera is used to capture real-time images. The processor used is Raspberry-Pi with Linux operating system. In order to make the system more congenial and reliable, the voice-controlled mode is incorporated in the wheelchair. To appraise the system’s performance, a basic wheelchair skill test (WST) is carried out. Basic skills like movement on plain and rough surfaces in forward, reverse direction and turning capability were analyzed for easier comparison with other existing wheelchair setups on the bases of controlling mechanisms, compatibility, design models, and usability in diverse conditions. System successfully operates with average response time of 3 s for eye and 3.4 s for voice control mode.

An Approach on Velocity and Stability Control of a Two-Wheeled Robotic Wheelchair

Conventional robotic wheelchairs (three or four-wheeled) which are statically stable are poor in mobility. Though a two-wheeled robotic wheelchair has better mobility, it is not statically stable and needs an active stability controller. In addition to mobility and stability, velocity control is also important for the operation of a wheelchair. Conventional stability and velocity controllers rely on the motion of the wheels and require high driving torque and power. In this paper, this problem is tackled by adding a compact pendulum-like movable mechanism whose main function is for stability control. Its motion and those of the wheels are controlled through a quasi-sliding mode control approach to achieve a simultaneous velocity and stability control with much less driving torque and power. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

Mind Controlled Wheelchair

The paper deals with engineering an electric wheelchair from a common wheelchair and the development of a BCI system (Brain-Computer Interface) between the electric wheelchair and the human brain. The target populations for the mind controlled wheelchair are the patients who are paralyzed below the neck and are unable to use conventional wheelchair interfaces. A portable EEG headset, MCU and fi rmware signal processing together facilitate the movement of the wheelchair by processing the user’s brain activity and eye blinks’ frequency. This paper reports the creation of a cost effi cient solution, later intended to be distributed as an add-on conversion kit for a common manual wheelchair. A Neurosky Mind wave headset is used to pick up EEG signals from the brain. This is a commercialized version of the Open-EEG Project. The signal obtained from EEG sensor is processed by the ARM microcontroller FRDM KL-25Z, a Freescale board. The microcontroller takes decision for determining the direction of motion of wheelchair based on floor detection and obstacle avoidance sensors mounted on wheelchair’s footplate. The MCU shows real time information on a color LCD interfaced to it. Joystick control of the wheelchair is also provided as an additional interface option that can be chosen from the menu system of the project.

Influence of back support shape in wheelchairs offering pelvic support on asymmetrical sitting posture and pressure points during reaching tasks in stroke patients

Many poststroke hemiplegic patients have an asymmetrical wheelchair-sitting posture. This study aimed to investigate the impact of different back support shapes on asymmetrical sitting posture and pressure points among poststroke hemiplegic patients during an activities of daily living–related reaching task. This study included 23 poststroke hemiplegic patients who performed tasks that involved the movement of objects using the unaffected upper limb to the affected side while sitting in a conventional wheelchair (C-WC) with a flat back support or a wheelchair providing pelvic and thoracic support (P-WC). Body alignment angles from video images and pressure distribution on supporting surfaces were measured using a two-dimensional motion analysis software (Dartfish) and a pressure mapping system (FSA). Regarding movement performance, although postural asymmetry increased in both wheelchair types, the degree of postural variation was smaller with P-WC use than C-WC use (p < 0.05), with partly reduced postural asymmetry. With P-WC, one-sided ischial asymmetrical pressure was significantly less after the movement (p < 0.05). In conclusion, P-WC’s back support shape contributed to a decrease in postural asymmetry for pelvic girdle support both at rest and during movement. This highlights the importance of a wheelchair back support shape and may help to increase the quality of activities of daily living movement in poststroke hemiplegic patients in wheelchairs.

Human tracking by using multiple methods and weighted products

Conventional wheelchairs are used by people who can actuate their hand, but there are conditions that cause the user cannot operate the wheelchair, such as handicapped people and amputated arms. Hence, they need an assistant to operate the wheelchair, as we know those conditions are dependent on others. An intelligent wheelchair becomes a solution to this problem by tracking and following an assistant in front of a wheelchair; it uses a camera that has been embedded there. So the assistant does not need to move it. In order to track a human, an algorithm that can detect a human or object is needed. Some algorithms with different approaches have been proposed such as SIFT, SURF, BRISK, AKAZE, KAZE, and ORB. Each algorithm has its own excess and feebleness. This research devises multiple methods for a human tracking for smart wheelchair, which aims to cover the method drawbacks with the advantages of other methods. The proposed method is performed using multiple methods mentioned above, which have sorted by investigating the method score. Subsequently, the first method is used to track a human and yield keypoints. If the keypoints detected are less than the threshold value, then the next method is used and so on until it reaches the threshold value. The threshold value is obtained from the average of keypoints detected in the first frame. This devised method has been evaluated by using 6 videos recorded by us and 10 videos from Visual Tracker Benchmark. This proposed method achieved an average accuracy up to 0.848609 on 6 videos and 0.663 on OTB dataset.