Towards an Intelligent Wheelchair System for Users With Cerebral Palsy

• Published in: IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering Vol. 18; no. 2; pp. 193 - 202
• Main Authors: Montesano, Luis, Diaz, Marta, Bhaskar, Sonu, Minguez, Javier
• Format: Journal Article Publication
• Language: English
• Published: United States IEEE 01.04.2010; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Ajuts tecnològics per als discapacitats; Artificial Intelligence; Aspectes socials; Automatic control; Birth disorders; Cerebral Palsy; Cerebral Palsy - rehabilitation; Child; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Equipment Design; Ergonomics; Female; Humans; Informàtica; Intellectual Disability; Intelligent systems; intelligent wheelchairs; Male; Man-Machine Systems; Models, Theoretical; Muscles; Navigation; People with disabilities; Performance analysis; Recruitment; Robotics; Self-help devices for the disabled; tactile interface; User-Computer Interface; Vehicle driving; Vehicle dynamics; Wheelchairs; Àrees temàtiques de la UPC
• ISSN: 1534-4320; 1558-0210; 1558-0210
• DOI: 10.1109/TNSRE.2009.2039592

This paper describes and evaluates an intelligent wheelchair, adapted for users with cognitive disabilities and mobility impairment. The study focuses on patients with cerebral palsy, one of the most common disorders affecting muscle control and coordination, thereby impairing movement. The wheelchair concept is an assistive device that allows the user to select arbitrary local destinations through a tactile screen interface. The device incorporates an automatic navigation system that drives the vehicle, avoiding obstacles even in unknown and dynamic scenarios. It provides the user with a high degree of autonomy, independent from a particular environment, i.e., not restricted to predefined conditions. To evaluate the rehabilitation device, a study was carried out with four subjects with cognitive impairments, between 11 and 16 years of age. They were first trained so as to get acquainted with the tactile interface and then were recruited to drive the wheelchair. Based on the experience with the subjects, an extensive evaluation of the intelligent wheelchair was provided from two perspectives: 1) based on the technical performance of the entire system and its components and 2) based on the behavior of the user (execution analysis, activity analysis, and competence analysis). The results indicated that the intelligent wheelchair effectively provided mobility and autonomy to the target population.