Faculty of Engineering and Technology
Department of Robotics and automation
Jain Global Campus, Kanakapura Taluk - 562112
Ramanagara District, Karnataka, India
2019-2023
A Project Report on
“SMART WHEELCHAIR ”
Submitted in partial fulfilment for the award of the degree of
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
E L E C T R O N I C S A N D C O M MU N IC A T I O N E N G I NE E R I N G
Submitted by
AKHIL V
19BTRRA002
AISHWARYA S RAJ
19BTRRA001
KIRAN C
19BTRRA013
RIJIN SHAJI
19BTRAS045
Under the guidance of
Dr. MANJUNATH K N
Assistant Professor
Department of Robotics and automation
Faculty of Engineering & Technology
JAIN DEEMED-TO-BE UNIVERSITY
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CONTENTS
Abstract
Chapter 1
1. Introduction
1.1 Role of a wheel chair
1.2 Automation in Wheelchair
Chapter 2
2. Literature review
2.1 Benefits of an appropriate wheelchair
2.2 Challenges for Wheel Chair users
2.3 Review of other papers
2.4 Related Works
2.5 Block Diagrams
Chapter 3
3.Methodology
3.1 Motor Control
3.2 Hardware Setup
3.4 Design of Smart Wheelchair
Chapter 4
4.Conclusion
References
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ABSTRACT
Physically challenged persons those who are suffering through different physical disabilities
face many challenging problems in their day-to-day life for commutating from one place to
another. sometimes they need to have to be dependent on another person to move from one
place to another. The normal wheel chair is not suitable for every physically challenged
persons. They have to put more physical effort to move the wheel chair or else they have to
call for a help. The objective of our project is to facilitate the movement of people who are
disabled or handicapped and elderly people who are not able to move well. The result of this
design will allow certain people to live a life with less dependence on others. By upgrading the
normal wheel chair with Hand gesture and voice-control, we can find a solution for their
problems. Gesture Controlled wheelchair is nothing but a robot which can be controlled by
simple human gestures. The user just needs to wear a gesture device in which a sensor is
included. The sensor will record the movement of the hand in a specific direction which will
result in the motion of the robot in the respective directions. The Voice Controlled wheel chair
helps to control the wheel chair through voice commands received via android application. The
integration of control unit with Bluetooth device is done to capture and read the voice
commands. The wheel chair then operates as per the command received via android
application. We are using both hand gesture and voice control in a single wheel chair for
making more effective for the user.
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Chapter 1
1. INTRODUCTION
The wheelchair is one of the most commonly used assistive devices to promote mobility and
enhance quality of life for people who have difficulties in walking (e.g. a person with spinal
cord injuries resulting in quadriplegia or paraplegia, muscular dystrophy etc). Wheelchair
mobility opens up opportunities for wheelchair users to study, work, engage in social
activities and access services such as healthcare. In addition to providing mobility, an
appropriate wheelchair benefits the physical health and quality of life of the users by helping
in reducing common problems such as pressure sores, progression of deformities and
improve respiration and digestion.
1.1 Role of a wheel chair
A wheelchair is appropriate when it meets the individual’s needs and environmental
conditions; provides proper fit and postural support based on sound biomechanical principles;
is safe and durable; is available and can be accessed, maintained and sustained in the country
at the most economical and affordable price. An appropriate wheelchair can assist in opening
up a new world for the user, from exclusion to inclusion, participation in all societal
activities, and sports and recreation, which all lead to independence, better health and
improved quality of life.
Physical Needs
The ability to adjust or customize a wheelchair to meet the user’s physical needs will vary,
depending on the type of wheelchair. Wheelchairs should be available in at least a small
range of sizes and allow some basic adjustments. Wheelchairs designed for temporary uses
(e.g. to be used in a hospital to move patients from one ward to another) are not designed to
provide the user with a close fit, postural support or pressure relief, while for long-term
users, a wheelchair must fit well and provide good postural support and pressure relief. A
range of seat widths and depths, and the possibility to adjust at least the footrest and backrest
height are important in ensuring that the wheelchair can be fitted correctly. Other common
adjustments and options include cushion types, postural supports and an adjustable wheel
position. Highly adjustable or individually modified wheelchairs are designed for long-term
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users with special postural needs. Such wheelchairs often have additional components added
to help support the user.
Intended Use
Wheelchair designs vary to enable users to safely and effectively use their wheelchair in the
environment in which they live and work. A wheelchair that is used primarily in rough
outdoor environments needs to be robust, more stable and easier to propel over rough ground.
A three-wheeled wheelchair that would be well suited to outdoor use. In comparison, a
wheelchair that is used indoors on smooth surfaces needs to be easy to manoeuvre in small
indoor spaces. Many users live and work in a range of settings, and a compromise is
therefore often necessary such as a robust wheelchair with a relatively short wheelbase but
large castor wheels. This wheelchair could be used both indoors and outdoors. Users need to
be able to get in and out of the wheelchair easily, to propel it efficiently and to repair it.
Users may need to transport their wheelchair, for example in a bus or car. Different
wheelchair designs allow for wheelchairs to be made more compact in different ways. Some
are cross-folding, while others have quick-release wheels and the backrest folds forwards.
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2.2 Automation in Wheelchairs
Electric power wheelchairs have become increasingly important as assistive technology and
rehabilitation device and the number of users has grown considerably. Normally wheel chairs are
controlled by joystick; however this may not suitable for some disabled people. In modern
technology, the HMI based techniques include joysticks controller, finger movement, voice
recognition, eye-gaze tracking, electro-myelography, etc. These technologies are already included in
wheelchairs which are made for the purposes. But proposed wheelchair include hand gesture and
voice control.
Automated innovative wheelchair is a wireless system designed for the physically handicapped
person specially or the quadriplegic patients. This is a type of moving unit which even can be easily
driven by those who do not have arms or legs or both. Hand-movement or Voice of the patient will
control the motion of the wheelchair. It incorporates Voice Recognition Module and Hand gesture
device to accomplish this task.
In order to benefit the end users who have lost control of their upper extremities due to injury,
illness or disability, a speech recognition system is designed to be one of the steering control
components of the MWA. The user can communicate with this type of system by giving voice
command. This voice command is predefined for each operation supported by the wheelchair.
Suppose, if operator is willing to go towards right side then he/she just has to say right and after
receiving this command the wheelchair will go in right direction. Similarly, other commands such as
start, stop, etc. can be given.
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Chapter 2
2. Literature review
2.1 Benefits of an Appropriate Wheelchair
Mobility devices are appropriate for people who experience a wide range of mobility
difficulties as a result of a broad spectrum of health conditions and impairments, including
amputation, arthritis, cerebral palsy, poliomyelitis, muscular dystrophy, spinal-cord injury,
spina bifida, stroke and are also relevant for older people who experience mobility
difficulties. Assistive technologies such as wheelchairs have been shown that, when
appropriate to the user and the user’s environment, they have a significant impact on the level
of independence and participation which people with disabilities are able to achieve. This
also reduces the burden of care and has been reported to reduce the overall need for formal
support services.
Wheelchair provision is not only about the wheelchair, which is just a product, rather it is
about enabling people with disabilities to become mobile, remain healthy and participate
fully in community life. We often take the ability to move in our home and community for
granted, but for individuals with a disability with mobility impairments even the smallest step
can prevent them from accessing all parts of their life. Being mobile enhances a person’s
ability to learn, interact with others, earn a living and participate in the community. A
wheelchair is the catalyst to increased independence and social integration, but it is not an
end in itself. Studies have shown that assistive technologies including wheelchairs, when
appropriate to the user and the user’s environment, have a significant impact on the level of
participation which people with disabilities are able to achieve and when provided through a
supportive service have been reported to reduce the time and physical burden for
caregivers. [8][9] The use of mobility devices, in particular, creates opportunities for
education and work, and contributes to improved health and quality of life but may also have
an impact on the prevention of falls, injuries, further impairments and premature death.
Investment in provision of mobility devices can reduce health-care costs and economic
vulnerability, and increase productivity and quality of life.
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Mobility
An active lifestyle has been proven to have both physical and mental health benefits with
individuals participating in physical activity shown to have a reduced risk of cardiovascular
disease, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and several
cancers. An appropriate wheelchair provides the user the freedom to move around, allowing
the user to access day to day physical activity as they push around conducting activities of
daily living increasing overall physical activity levels and day to day mobility. It also
provides the greatest possible opportunity for independence and do the things they want to
do, allowing individuals to move within their home more easily, provides increased comfort
and a more active lifestyle.
Independence
Difficulty with ambulation, need to frequently lean on someone or hold onto their arm as they
walk next to you, decreased balance fear of falling can cause individuals to become isolated
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from friends and family. A wheelchair that is functional, comfortable and can be propelled
efficiently can result in increased levels of activity. Independent mobility and increased
physical function can reduce dependence on others. Thus, wheelchair user's can be more
independent and more in control of their own life. Individuals who experience the least
discomfort when sitting are often more productive. Users who are able to spend more time in
their wheelchair will have more opportunities for participating in day-to-day life along with
others in the household, greatly improving their quality of life.
Health
A wheelchair can improve the user's health in many ways. A wheelchair that is functional,
comfortable and can be propelled efficiently can result in increased levels of physical
activity, thus improving both physical and mental health. A well fitting wheelchair with
cushion combined with adequate user training can reduce common problems, such as
pressure sores, the progression of deformities or contractures, and other secondary conditions
associated with poor postures. Other benefits, such as improved respiration and digestion,
increased head, trunk and upper extremity control and overall stability, can be achieved with
proper postural support. Maintenance of health is an important factor in measuring quality of
life. These factors combined serve to increase access to opportunities for education,
employment and participation within the family and the community.
2.2 Challenges for Wheelchair Users
Financial Barriers
Some 80% of the people with disabilities in the world live in low-income countries. The
majority of them are poor and do not have access to basic services, including rehabilitation
facilities. The International Labour Organisation reports that the unemployment rates of
people with disabilities reach an estimated 80% or more in many developing countries.
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Government funding for the provision of a wheelchair is rarely available, leaving the majority
of users unable to pay for a wheelchair themselves.
Physical Barriers
Majority of wheelchair users are poor, with inaccessible surroundings. They also live where
road systems are poor, there is a lack of pavements, and the climate and physical terrain are
often extreme. In many contexts, public and private buildings are difficult to access in a
wheelchair. These physical barriers place additional requirements on the strength and
durability of wheelchairs. They also require that users exercise a high degree of skill if they
are to be mobile.
Access to Services
In many developing countries, only 3% of people with disabilities who require rehabilitation
services have access to them. According to a report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur,
62 countries have no national rehabilitation services available to people with disabilities. This
means that many wheelchair users are at risk of developing secondary complications and
premature death that could be avoided with proper rehabilitation services.
Education and Information
Many users have difficulty in accessing relevant information, such as on their own health
conditions, prevention of secondary complications, available rehabilitation services and types
of wheelchair available. For many, a wheelchair service may be their first access to any form
of rehabilitation service. This places even more emphasis on the importance of user
education.
Personal Choice
Users are rarely given the opportunity to choose the most appropriate wheelchair. Often there
is only one type of wheelchair available (and often in only one or two sizes), which may not
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be suited to the user's physical needs, or practical in terms of the user's lifestyle or home or
work environment. According to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,
“States Parties shall take effective measures to ensure personal mobility with the greatest
possible independence for persons with disabilities … by facilitating the personal mobility of
persons with disabilities in the manner and at the time of their choice, and at affordable
cost”.
2.3 Review from other papers:
Ghorbel et al. [6] explained the collaborative control of the smart wheelchair. They said that a
wheelchair seeks to improve the lives of physically impaired people as well as their families.
They use ATMega328 Microcontroller, joystick, 16X2 LCD to display the readings the
multiple sensors for making the system more user-friendly. Sivakumar and Sudhagar [7]
described that the intelligent wheelchair vehicle used for countless. They were solving this
problem with the help of ATMega328 Microcontroller that demonstrates the arrangement and
headway organize for Wheelchair. Reddy and Kumar [8] proposed the smart wheelchair,
which connected to the mobile phone of the guardian as well as the social media. They
explained with the help of an accelerometer, RDIF tags voice recording system, and a
GSM/GPRS module attempt to find a way to incorporate an IoT service device so that the
status of the patient regularly updated on a web server. Barriuso et al.[9] considered the
portable electroencephalography based wheelchair, which is a voice interface or a specially
designed smartphone application. Bastos-Filho et al. [10] define the wheelchair using an
independent BCI (Brain-Computer Interface), and this interface senses the brain waves. Pu et
al. [11] discussed the obstacle avoidance wheelchair, which consists of an RGB camera, an
IR camera, a LIDAR, and ultrasonic sensors. Ghorbel et al. [12] recognition system is used to
process pressure sensor signals for the detection of the user's posture in the wheelchair by
mining the hidden information of the postures and using classification techniques namely
Decision Tree (J48), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Multilayer Perception (MLP), Naive
Bayes, and k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN) the cushion.Malhotra et al. [13-17] discussed the
construction and design of a device for obstacle detection and reliability of systems.
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2.4 Related Works:
The emergence of robots can be traced back to the 90‟s with Helpmate Robots and Robot-
Caddy. Since then, there is an exponential development in the field of robotics, and
controlling robots through human gestures have been the topic of research for as long time.
With the implementation of gestures to control robots, there have been several methodologies
to perform the action. Some of the related works are being described in this section:
A. Light-based Gesture Recognition Light or illumination tracking and controlling robots
with light sensors are being done in a lot of cases. Such robots are autonomous in nature.
Generally, there are some light sensors associated with the robot. The sensors send some rays
of light and track them as they gets absorbed in the surface or reflected back to it. According
to this, the robot can be line-sensing robots where it is made to follow a black or a white path
autonomously.
B. Vision-based Gesture Recognition Several robots are designed to be controlled by vision-
based gestures. In such robots, there are, generally, some cameras as the sensor, which also
acts as an interface to control the robot with some manipulators. The input gesture can be
some patterns, movements of hands, color tracking, face recognition, finger tracking, or some
templates. They are also used in ball tracking and Robo-football games where the robots play
the traditional game of football by tracking the movement of the ball. Though it has paved a
way for advanced robot operations, but it is affected by factors such as illumination, foggy
weather, background lights, etc.
C. Motion-based Gesture Recognition The motions can be used to control a robot. This is
generally done by incorporating an accelerometer to control the robot wirelessly. This can
also be done using sensors. This method is beneficial over other methods in the sense that it
can interact with machines naturally without being intruded by the factors that affects the
mechanical devices. One important development in this field is done by Sauvik Das et al in
2010, where he designed a spying device yielding location and activities of the user without
his/her knowledge.
D. Sixth Sense Technology The Sixth sense technology begins in 1990 by Steve Mann who
implemented a wearable computing device via neckprojector or head-mounted projector
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coupled with a camera. Later, following his idea, Pranav Mistry, a young research scientist at
MIT at that time came up with new applications of this technology. Pranav Mistry came up
with the name „Sixth Sense Technology” and has since been named Wear Ur World (WUW).
This technology applies all of the techniques mentioned above and designing applications
that give an intuitive output with the connection of internet.
3.5 Block Diagrams:
Gesture Control
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Voice control
Voice Recognition Module
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Chapter 3
3. Smart Wheel Design and Methodology
In general, the wheelchair facilitates people with more disabilities in their daily lives by
allowing them to independently move with the help of an assistive and straightforward
interface. The project offers Proportional controls that allow simultaneous control of speed
and direction of the chair with the aid of a arduino and the advent of interactive technology.
Hardware Setup:
For voice control:
-ARDUINO UNO- It is used for processing the signal received from the voice recognition
module and the gesture control device and sends signal to the motor driver.
-VOICE RECOGNITION MODULE – Recognises the commands given by the user and send
them to the Arduino UNO
-L293D MOTOR DRIVER – receives signal from the Arduino UNO and controls a set of 2
DC motors simultaneously in any direction.
-BO MOTORS * 2 and Tyres – Used for the Motion of the wheelchair
-7.4V LI ION BATTERY 2000mah – To provide power to the motors and the modules
For Gesture control
Transmitter
-ADXL 335 Accelerometer – This is used for tilt sensing, when we make the gestures in our
hand
-nrf24L01 – It is used to send data from transmitter to receiver.
-Arduino Uno – For Processing the signal from the accelerometer and sent signal to the
transceiver module.
Receiver
-Arduino Uno- Receive data from the transceiver and process the data
-nrf24L01- To receive data from the transmitter
-L293D motor driver - receives signal from the Arduino UNO and controls a set of 2 DC
motors simultaneously in any direction.
-BO motors and Tyres - Used for the Motion of the wheelchair
-7.4 LI ION BATTERY 2000mah – To provide power to the motors and the modules
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Design:
The smart wheelchair is designed in such a way that it can be controlled using both voice and
gesture. For the gesture control, we use a device which is supposed to be worn by the patient
on his/her wrist. This device contains a transmitter, ADXL 335, accelerometer, nrf24L01 and
Arduino Uno on the wheelchair to convert the signals for the control. For voice control, there
is a microphone connected to the Arduino which records the commands given by the patient
and converts the signal to electrical signals for control. It runs on 7.4 LI Ion Battery
2000mah. BO motors and Tyres are used to move the wheel chair around. A kid’s chair
without legs is fitted on top of a board with wheels for the prototype.
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Chapter 5
5.Conclusion
There are different kinds of disabled people on the planet. They deserve equality in the way
of living as much as possible. By being dependant on others they lose control on moving
around according to their will and this makes living very difficult for them. The smart
wheelchair provides an opportunity for them to move around according to their own will
without expecting help from other people. The smart wheelchair even allows people who are
disabled on both upper and lower body and people who are paralysed from neck down. By
using their voice they can guide the wheelchair to move according to their will. This smart
wheel chair has use for people who aren’t able to talk too by providing a gesture control
setup. These two voice and gesture control setup on the wheel chair provides an easier
lifestyle to various kinds of disabled patients.
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References
[1] V. Shwetha, Vaibhav Mani and Aditya Kumaran 2018 Voice Controlled Wheelchair
International Journal of Engineering & Technology7(4.41) 105-109
[2] C.A. Priya, Saadiya, Bhagyashree, S.D. Pranjala and H.S.G. Supreeth May 2018Voice
Controlled Wheelchair for Physically Disabled People International Journal for Research in
Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET)vol. 62375-2380
[3] Mohammad Ilyas Malik, Tanveer Bashir and Omar Farooq Khan June 2017Voice
Controlled Wheel Chair System International Journal of Computer Science and Mobile
Computingvol. 6411- 419
[4] Khyati Meena, Shubham Gupta and Vijay Khare April 2017 Voice Controlled
WheelchairInternational Journal of Electronics, Electrical and Computational Systemvol. 6
23-27
[5] Manuel Mazo et al. 1995Wheelchair for Physically Disabled People with Voice,
Ultrasonic and Infrared Sensor ControlAutonomous Robots2, 203-224
[6] Sarah Frost, Kylie Mines, Jamie Noon, Elsje Scheffler, and Rebecca Jackson Stoeckle.
Wheelchair Service Training Package - Reference Manual for Participants - Basic Level.
Section A. Core Knowledge.World Health Organization, Geneva. 2012
[7] Jump up to:2.0 2.1 Susan Allen, Linda Resnik and Jason Roy; Promoting Independence
for Wheelchair User's : The Role of Home Accomodations, The Gerontological Society of
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[8] William Armstrong, Johan Borg, Marc Krizack, Alida Lindsley, Kylie Mines, Jon
Pearlman, Kim Reisinger, Sarah Sheldon. Guidelines on the Provision of Manual
Wheelchairs in Less Resourced Settings. World Health Organization; Geneva: 2008.
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[9] Sarah Frost, Kylie Mines, Jamie Noon, Elsje Scheffler, and Rebecca Jackson Stoeckle.
Wheelchair Service Training Package - Reference Manual for Participants - Basic Level.
Section A. Core Knowledge.World Health Organization, Geneva. 2012
[10] Assistive Technology for All. WSTP Intermediate Video Series: 3. The Benefits of an
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[11] https://youtu.be/OCRHDmz7q4w
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