Control of speed and direction of electric wheelchair using seat pressure mapping

An electric wheelchair controlled through seat pressure mapping was developed to accomplish hands-free operation. The seat pressure mapping resulting from a change in posture was measured using a pressure sensor array seated on the wheelchair in real time. The movements of the upper body were discriminated using template matching. The speed and direction can be controlled based on the similarities between the measured pressure distribution and five templates of neutral, forward, backward, left, and right movements. The developed interface was built into a commercial electric wheelchair. As the results of an experiment show, the proposed wheelchair can be controlled in any direction and velocity.