Most power wheelchairs have been designed to be operated using a joystick. Power wheelchairs with joystick controls can assist elderly persons to improve their mobility. However, persons with hand disabilities cannot control a power wheelchair using a...
Most power wheelchairs have been designed to be operated using a joystick. Power wheelchairs with joystick controls can assist elderly persons to improve their mobility. However, persons with hand disabilities cannot control a power wheelchair using a joystick. This paper proposes a power wheelchair operated by a user’s upper-body tilt information obtained from a gyro sensor and an accelerometer. In this study, a complementary filter is used to estimate a user’s upper-body tilt. Since the developed power wheelchair can be operated without a joystick, it is expected that elderly persons or persons with hand disabilities will find it simple to use. Experiments are performed to demonstrate the performance of the developed power wheelchair.