Smart and Safe Wheelchair

Project Proposal

Introduction Our design of the smart and safe wheelchair will be beneficial to many for several reasons. It has been seen that the elderly and handicapped that benefit from the use of electric wheelchairs often have minor accidents. This is due to the loss of control of the joystick or other controlling interface. These accidents can lead to injury and can be easily avoided. Some handicapped are unable to efficiently use a powered wheelchair due to their poor motor skills. Our goal is to provide extra safety features that prevent common wheelchair accidents. We hope that a wheelchair can be constructed to help those in hospitals or nursing home settings feel safer about their surroundings. Medical staff will also be able to worry less about their patients, and friends and relatives can rest easier. Our project is to design a sensor array that will be mounted on a powered wheelchair. A single battery will power the sensors, as well as a controlling microprocessor, driving amplifier, and two DC motors. Sensor placement will be located on the base of the wheelchair to provide protection against obstacles at close range. Sensors will also be mounted underneath the vehicle to prevent the wheelchair from falling down stairs or into holes. A smaller prototype will be constructed that will demonstrate the features of our design. An additional feature can also be added to this project. The first is a wireless remote control that allows another person to stop the wheelchair if needed. This design integrates many different aspects of the electrical engineering field. This project serves as an excellent example of how a useful system can be constructed using knowledge of controls, machinery, electromagnetic, wireless communication and software programming. The benefits of our proposed design include: wheelchair users avoid collisions with walls or other fixed obstacles wheelchair users avoid sudden changes in elevation, including holes and stairs remote shut-off control that allows safe halt of wheelchair Features of our improved wheelchair include: Ultrasonic sensors capable of detecting surfaces below and around the wheelchair regardless of light intensity or color of surface Independent DC motors used to control both rear wheels on the wheelchair, allowing for excellent maneuverability Wireless remote unit (constructed with LINX RF module) capable of stopping wheelchair by an independent user Basic-X processor used to interpret multiple sensor inputs, and then outputs signal to a driving amplifier that powers the DC motors

Block Diagram

Ultrasonic Sensors: These sensors mounted on the sides, front, rear and underneath the vehicle create an electromagnetic wave approximately 40 KHz. The wave is emitted in all directions to determine if any objects or surfaces are within a close range (approximately 9 inches) of the wheelchair. The sensors are equipped with receivers that will detect a reflected wave and inform the processor that a surface is nearby. Basic-X Processor: This processor will receive information from both the manual control and the sensors mounted on the vehicle. The processor decides based on signals from the sensors whether the left, right, or both motors are shut off. The manual control will be able to move the wheelchair in every direction except that determined unsafe by the sensors. An additional input to the processor is the receiver from the remote controller. If this receiver is activated the processor will halt both motors. Driving Amplifiers: These are used to power the DC motors since the Processor cannot provide enough current. The signal is taken from the processor and scaled appropriately to drive the motors. Motors: DC motors capable of reversing direction supplied by a low DC voltage (approximately 12 V). Our final design should be able to handle many different obstacles of all sizes. It will also have a close enough range to avoid collisions, but not cause any unnecessary problems in tight hallways or crowded rooms.

Testing Procedures Sensors: Calibrating the sensing distance will be the most important part of our project. We must test all sensors to ensure that they will have the desired response to obstacles around and below. We must also align the sensors properly on the wheelchair so that a full range is detectable by the equipment. Basic-X Processor: The processor must be programmed properly to exchange information from the sensors to the motors. This is important to ensure proper response of the wheelchair. Many simulations will be done using all variations of sensor and manual controller inputs. LINX system: The LINX system can be tested by feeding the transmitter a varying signal and then measuring the output seen on the receiver. If the signals match, then the chips are functioning properly. Our remote control shut-off will use these chips to send a signal from a controller to the processor on the wheelchair. Final Design: To demonstrate this we will construct our smaller prototype wheelchair that will simulate our design on a smaller scale. The manual control of the vehicle will consist of a wired controller held by the operator. Sensors will be mounted on all corners to cover a 360 field around the vehicle. Once the prototype is assembled we will put the vehicle through many tests to cover all possible variations of sensor inputs. Tolerance Analysis The Ultrasonic sensors are the most sensitive component of our system. For proper operation they must interpret many surfaces and conditions at many lengths and be able to decipher which pose a danger. Falling down stairs is the most dangerous situation we are trying to prevent. The sensors mounted below the wheelchair must be able to detect a small increase in length from the sensor to the ground to detect stairs of many sizes. A specific range must be measured by the sensors to account for different distances in height, and determine which are negligible. The system must also work in a timely manner to avoid the wheelchair from rolling into a dangerous situation. The ultimate goal is to prevent all collisions and keep all four wheels safely on the ground and out of harms way.