Development of obstacle avoidance strategy for a shared control wheelchair

The wheelchair’s design has changed throughout the years in order to increase performance and make it safer. However, accidents do occur frequently for wheelchair users due to falls or accidental contact with the surroundings. This highlights the need for more safety on the wheelchair to reduce acci...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ong, Ming Hao
Other Authors: Ang Wei Tech
Format: Final Year Project
Language:English
Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/150327
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
Description
Summary:The wheelchair’s design has changed throughout the years in order to increase performance and make it safer. However, accidents do occur frequently for wheelchair users due to falls or accidental contact with the surroundings. This highlights the need for more safety on the wheelchair to reduce accidents. This research work hence investigates utilizing sensor array technology to improve current wheelchair driving safety. Ultrasonic sensors are employed together with an obstacle avoidance feature to aid wheelchair users in navigating their surroundings easily. Firstly, the choice of different types of sensors is discussed and considered. Secondly, different obstacle avoidance algorithm is explored. A new obstacle avoidance strategy inspired by previous obstacle avoidance algorithm such as the artificial potential field and vector field histogram is then derived. Meanwhile, certain existing wheelchair designs have been analysed. Next, the design process, setup of the wheelchair and the various experiments are discussed in detail too. Finally, the effectiveness of both the sensor placement and obstacle avoidance strategy is then evaluated in different situations by testing the wheelchair in corridors and an obstacle route.