Slope driving experiment of front drive type electric wheelchair with casters using yaw-rate compensation

Aydin Tarik Zengin*, Yutaro Maruno, Hiroshi Okajima, Nobutomo Matsunaga

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Electric-powered wheelchairs have been used as a convenient transport device for elderly and disabled. Recently, a front drive type electric wheelchair that is easy for a disabled person to climb on from a bed has been focused on. However, front-drive-type wheelchairs are hard to run straight and difficult to operate because their over-steering characteristic is strong owing to free casters. If the wheelchair can be driven by an easy control stick operation, it will be a comfortable function for disabled persons. In our previous study, we proposed a front-drive-type wheelchair control method which realizes comfortable functions, i.e. driving with easy stick operation like the traditional rear-drive-type wheelchair. The proposed control system uses ideal model of electric wheelchairs. By using our proposed method, the maneuverability can be improved for realizing easy stick operation. In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed method by simulations and experiments on a slope with electric-powered front-drive-type wheelchair. In particular, straight-ahead stability on slope is analyzed by human driving.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationICCAS 2012 - 2012 12th International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems
Pages2008-2013
Number of pages6
Publication statusPublished - 2012
Externally publishedYes
Event2012 12th International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems, ICCAS 2012 - Jeju, Korea, Republic of
Duration: 17 Oct 201221 Oct 2012

Publication series

NameInternational Conference on Control, Automation and Systems
ISSN (Print)1598-7833

Conference

Conference2012 12th International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems, ICCAS 2012
Country/TerritoryKorea, Republic of
CityJeju
Period17/10/1221/10/12

Keywords

  • Direct yaw moment control
  • Electrical wheelchair
  • Free caster
  • Front drive
  • Over-steering
  • Slope
  • Slope control

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