Engineering Commons^™

Review Of Assistive Devices For Electric Powered Wheelchairs Navigation, K. Arshak, D. Buckley, K. Kaneswaran

The ITB Journal

The decreasing costs of microprocessor systems and increasing range of “Smart Sensors” have led to a boom in Assistive Device Technology. The annual rate of expenditure for mobility related devices has reached $1 billion dollars in the United States alone. The industries current focus is to develop a wider range of Independent Mobility Controllers to allow, even the most severely disabled person, the ability to control an Electric Powered Wheelchair (EPW). Advances in Autonomous Robot Design have led to corresponding improvements in EPW technology. This paper outlines user interfaces and input device technologies used at present to navigate an EPW.