Omnidirectional Assistive Wheelchair: Design and Control with Isometric Myoelectric Based Intention Classification

Smart electric wheelchairs are becoming a natural substitute of the conventional wheelchairs as an assitive device for geriatric population and patients suffering from mobility disorders. There is a demand for developing powered wheelchairs with intelligent control to suit wide range of application in the field of assistive technology. This paper deals with the development of a 4 wheeled omnidirectional wheelchair and its control using a myoelectric user intention interface. Developed system is driven by holonomic drive system, exploring greater maneuverability compared to conventional powered wheelchairs. Myoelectric signals from forearm muscles are processed to extract some features for seven different wheelchair motion namely forward, backward, left, right, clock-wise and anticlockwise turn and stop. A neural network classifier classifies the user intention and maps the intention to wheelchair motion. The developed system finds its direct application in transporting people with locomotor disability, geriatric population as well as an indoor navigation vehicle.