Semi-Autonomous Multi-Controlled Wheelchair

Collaborator(s): Jamal Khader, Jonathan Olukare, Muhammad Lasisi, Joseph Adweka

(Report)

Abstract

Individuals with disabilities face limitations in their ability to carry out daily activities due to impairments in their body structure and function. To address these challenges, engineers have developed various assistive devices and technologies designed to support individuals with disabilities. These innovations range from prosthetics and mobility aids such as wheelchairs to assistive software and communication devices, that can greatly improve the quality of life for these individuals. The goal of this project is to design and develop a multi-controlled autonomous wheelchair for use by patients with mobility impairments. The multi-controlled wheelchair would be fully operational with voice command and there will also be an optional use of a joystick to control the wheelchair.

The main objective of this project is to provide solutions to people who are paraplegic or tetraplegic and hence cannot operate a regular wheelchair without the help of a third party. The project also aims to provide an easier and better alternative to regular wheelchair users. Various research papers and projects related to this topic were reviewed with respect to their mode of operation, terrain-ability, braking system, modularity as well as cost, in other to design new strategies and improve the efficiency of our project. Objectives such as design for cost, assembly, manufacturability, sustainability, environment, and end of life were all taken into consideration in the designing process. Also, the design was made to follow necessary standards available for a power wheelchair. During the project, there were several constraints: the most significant ones being, the availability of the materials in TRNC, time, and financial constraints. The steps and processes in the design and manufacturing of this project will be discussed in this report with necessary graphical models. Verification plans of objectives and standards and failure mode analysis were developed for the proposed design. Lastly, recommendations and future works were discussed in the last chapter of the report.

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