ACADEMIC JOURNAL OF MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING, VOL.

17, ISSUE 2 /2019

DESIGN PROCESS AND DEVELOPMENT OF A PROTOTYPE

ELECTRIC WHEELCHAIR

Kyparissis VELIKIS1, Nikolaos EFKOLIDIS2, Panagiotis KYRATSIS2 Dimitrios TZETZIS1*

1
International Hellenic University, School of Science and Technology, 14th km Thessaloniki-Moudania, GR57001
Thermi, Greece
2
Western Macedonia University of Applied Sciences, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Design,
Kila Kozani, GR50100, Greece
E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

ABSTRACT: Nowadays, there are many people suffering of temporary or permanent

disabilities due to illnesses or accidents. In many of those cases, the result is related to the
difficulty of walking, something which means that the continuously refinement of the
wheelchairs is becoming crucial. For this reason, there is a massive research and development
in the field of wheelchairs. A basic problem in the majority of wheelchairs and trolleys is the
boarding and disembarking process. Disabled people face this problem on a daily basis,
especially those who has been in bed for many years. The current research presents the design
process and development of a prototype electric wheelchair, which has as main target to solve
problems encountered by the person with disability on a daily basis. The whole process
accomplished according to the current trend of wheelchair design, which is the development of
easy to use and reliable low cost devices.
KEYWORDS: Product design, design for all, electric wheelchair

1 INTRODUCTION the past decade, a great effort has been reported in

research and development (R&D) of an assistive
The wheelchair development process is a growing technology for people with disabilities. There have
research area generated around the world, with a been many reported achievements, like innovative
great deal of articles published in the last few years. autonomous smart wheelchairs (Gao, at al., 2008;
Although their majority is related to wheelchair Gao, at al., 2010). Li et al. proposed the use of
usage and clinical assessment, there are an multi-layered maps for navigation and interaction of
increasing number of articles related to the design of an intelligent wheelchair. Its autonomous navigation
new wheelchair technologies. For some disabled and human-robot interaction was the major
people, wheelchairs are the primary means of challenge. The extension of the capability of task
mobility, activity and participation in life. planning for the wheelchair and the efficiency of
path planning and navigation improved from the
A motorized wheelchair or electric-powered semantic information. Mori and Nakada examined
wheelchair is based on the operation by means of
the patient lifting capacity. They developed a
electric motors rather than manual power. portable small and light patient lift, appropriate to
Motorized wheelchairs are useful for those who are be carried using a wheelchair in a folded state. Its
not able to impel a manual wheelchair or those who operation was simple and a small user force was
may need to use a wheelchair for long distances, required because this lift has a sliding mechanism
which would be strenuous in a manual wheelchair. that brings the fulcrum closer to the patient's center
Moving around with the wheelchair is an important of mass. The positive experimental results showed
factor to study, but it is not the only one related to the effectiveness of the proposed patient lift.
mobility. It is also important to be able to move to
and from the wheelchair as the handicap person has Al Sibai and Manap reviewed the recent studies on
to use the toilet, shower, bed etc. All those actions smart wheelchair system in order to evaluate the
must be taken also into consideration to make a current available technologies and to deliberate new
worthy user-friendly model. future directions for the ongoing research projects.
Medola et al. reviewed and analyzed the most
2 LITERATURE SURVEY important aspects of wheelchair configuration that
Extensive work has been implemented in order to affect the users’ actions and mobility in terms of the
increase the safety of electric powered wheelchairs, kinetics and kinematics of the manual propulsion,
while reducing the level of human intervention. In the inertial properties of different wheelchair

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configurations, the importance of hand in a day life of the user, i.e. if the user wants to grab
wheelchair assembly, as the interface through which something from a higher level or if something is
the user drives the chair. Furthermore, a number of dropped on the floor. Most wheelchairs do not have
researchers have used mobile robot technologies to an elevation system for the seat and those that have
develop smart wheelchairs (Yayan, et al., 2014; such systems are way too expensive to own. For
Jain, and Argall, 2014; Leishman, et al., 2014). many wheelchair users, the decision to venture into
Different computer systems, a number of sensors public places is something difficult. The desire for
and a mobile robot base to which a seat has been autonomy was the driven parameter during the
attached, have been added. Sinyukov, et al. wheelchair design process.
presented both experimental and simulation results
of a developed hardware and software control
framework for a semi-autonomous wheelchair. They 3.1 Concept Development
developed an assisted control framework that The first concept was an electric wheelchair in
augments the user inputs by providing which the axle distance varies (Figure 1a).
functionalities and a semi-autonomous navigation, Moreover, this distance varies with the chair
which takes higher level destination goals and position, lowering the center of gravity as the axle
executes a SLAM algorithm. Leaman and La distance grows, when going faster, to avoid turning
provided a complete state-of-the-art overview of a over the wheelchair. In this wheelchair, a single
smart wheelchair research trends. They introduced scissors mechanism was selected for the lift of the
the power wheelchairs, the communities they serve seat. The elevation is obtained with a linear electric
and discussed in detail the associated technological motor mounted on the frame. Two electric motors
innovations with an emphasis on the most and two castor wheels were selected also for the
researched areas, generating the most interest for movement of the vehicle. The scissors mechanism is
future research and development. Finally they mounted on the top frame in front and at a sliding
analyzed their vision for the future research and bearing at the back. For achieving the lift of the seat
how to serve people with all types of disabilities. and movement of the vehicle, a rotating mechanism
for the castor wheels mounted on the beam was
3 WHEELCHAIR DESIGN necessary. Finally, the batteries of the wheelchair
are placed inside the beams for space saving.
The aim of this project is the design and creation of
an economic and user-friendly wheelchair that is The second concept (Figure 1b) is a wheelchair with
capable of moving indoors and outdoors. It has to be a stable framework with two electric motors and
flexible enough to move inside houses, narrow two castor wheels with stable axle. A double
spaces with different difficulties and be able to get scissors mechanism was selected in order to achieve
around on outdoor places. The main target of the the elevation of the seating position with two linear
concept design is the solution of the patient electric motors. The double scissor mechanism is
movement difficulties such as the transfer from the giving the ability for higher elevation than a single
chair to bed and vice versa and the elevation to type scissor. Two linear bearings are mounted to the
different layers. The user should feel free in upper frame and two at the main frame, giving the
different activities in order to be more independent mechanism more stability and fixed connection to
in everyday life. In addition, the wheelchair has to the framework.
be as economic as possible in order to be available The third concept mechanism (Figure 1c) was a
for all. double scissor with four fixed points on the frame. It
Getting off and on the wheelchair is one of the was very similar to the previous mechanism but
biggest problems that most users face every day on with more stability, because of the connected arms
different occasions. Movements such as getting to to the scissor beams. There was no need for linear
the bed or getting on the car are daily routine bearings connected to the framework because of the
problems for those people. added linkages. All four joints are connected to the
framework with joints.
Another problem that disabled persons have is the
seat height. The position of the seat affects every

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Fig. 1 The developed concepts in the concept design phase.

With this system the center of gravity of the chair existing wheelchair. Furthermore, for each aspect
remains at the center of the vehicle at all heights. a weight importance was introduced, as some
The possible change of the center of gravity aspects were more crucial than the others. The
during elevation of the seat or driving the concept with the highest overall value was
wheelchair may be dangerous and turn over the approved for the next phase.
vehicle. Two linear electric actuators are
connected to all four main beams of the scissor
Importance Concept Concept Concept
mechanism to a main linkage. The main linkage is Value % 1 2 3
composed from sheet metal welded parts and is Outdoor 15 5 4 4
the basic part of this mechanism. Two linkages Capability
Indoor 15 2 4 4
are placed, one at the back and one in the front Capability
connection point of the scissor. The basic function Max Height 5 4 5 5
of the linkage is to connect the scissor to the Min Height 5 3 5 5
actuators in order to lift the chair and at the same Disembark 30 3 3 5
Autonomy 5 3 4 4
time, it is connected to the footrest and to the back Stability 20 2 4 5
of the seat. In this way, it is possible to change the Storage 5 3 4 4
angle of the back and the legs of the user, while Overall 100 3 3.8 4.6
adjusting the seat height. Furthermore, at the top Table 1. Concept Selection
frame two slider mechanisms and a rack & pinion
gear are connected with a 12V DC motor for the All concepts were evaluated and according to the
vertical movement of the chair, in order to be results, the final decision was taken. Concepts 2
easier for the user to disembark from the vehicle. and 3 were very similar in outdoor and indoor
capability and also at max – min height that
3.2 Concept selection
wheelchair can operate. Concept 1 is performing
Although the three concepts explained above, the best outdoor solution but is not performing as
suited the requirements of the project, the concept well as in the other aspects, so it is out of the
that adapted best was selected based on the competition. Concept 3 (Figure 2) is the only one
strengths and weaknesses evaluation presented in that can fit a sliding mechanism for the disembark
Table 1. Each concept was tested in a series of of the user from the vehicle, which is the most
aspects. Those aspects were valued on a scale important aspect as the aim of this project, So,
from 0 to 5 (choosing 0 for the lowest value and 5 Concept 3 got the highest overall score and was
for the highest). The ratings were given according selected for further development.
to how the characteristics were fulfilled by an

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Fr and the dynamic radius of the wheel. The

vertical force (Fz) which expresses the mass of a
body in strength equals to:
Fz = m*G (2)
where m is the body mass and G is the
acceleration of gravity.
The rolling resistance Fr is described by the
following formula:
Fr = Fz * μr (3)
Where μr is the rolling resistance coefficient
which is estimated for the wheelchairs with non-
pneumatic wheels on concrete, with the value of
μr = 0.015.
For the calculation of the wheelchair rolling
resistance is taken into account the mass of the
Fig. 2 The proposed concept
vehicle appr. 27 kg plus the mass of a 90Kg user.
4 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Fz = (m1+m2)*G => Fz = 1147 N (4)
m1 is the vehicle mass in kg and m2 is the user
During the movement of a wheelchair, there are
mass in kg.
some resistances that appear. These resistances
are variable and depend on various parameters as Fr = Fz * μr => Fr = 1147*0.015 = 17.2 N (5)
described below:
When climbing a vehicle due to road inclination, a
resulting force from the weight of the vehicle
 Rolling resistance
appears (Figure 3). This force opposes the
 Aerodynamic resistance movement of the vehicle when it is on the hill.
 Anode resistance
 Inertial resistance

In the wheelchair, aerodynamic resistance and

inertia resistance are considered insignificant
because the accelerations and speeds which are
developed on the vehicle are kept to a minimum.

4.1 Rolling Resistance

When an unformulated wheel is wrapped in

unformed ground or, respectively, a fully resilient Fig. 3 Forces in road inclinations
wheel is wound on a fully developed ground,
there is no resistance to the movement. These are
The ascent resistance FB is calculated from the
the ideal cases, as in reality both the ground and following formula:
the wheel suffer from deformations. The
FB=Fz*Sinα (6)
developed torque which is created equals to:
Where Fz is vertical force in newtons and α is the
Tr = N*α (1) angle of the road inclination. As it is known, the
tilt of the road is the ratio of the height H to the
where N is the maximum vertical force in newtons distance L (Figure 3) and expresses the height to
and a is distance from a theoretical axial line of be developed at a distance of 100 km:
the wheel in meters. To balance this torque, it is
necessary to develop a torque opposite to this. Ι = Η/L = tanα ≈ sinα (7)
This torque equals the product of the pulling force

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To find the angle α, in order to calculate the Mk = 22*0.154 / 23 => Mk = 1.5 Nm (12)
ascent resistance, the right formula is the
According to the motor diagram (Figure 5) its
following:
maximum speed is 220 rpm and the maximum
Α=tan-1(i) (8) speed that the wheelchair can develop is 12Km/h.
This is calculated by the following formula:
Thus, for a pavement slope of 10o the vehicle has
an ascent resistance equals to: N = V* 60/2*π*r => V = n*2*π*r / 60
FB = Fz * sinα => FB = 205N (9) = 222* 2 * π * 0.154/60
Since the forces are opposing to the movement of V = 3.54 m/s => V = 12.7 Km/h (13)
the vehicle, it is accurate to be summed in order to
Where V is the maximum speed that wheelchair
find the required driving force (traction force) to
can achieve in Km/h
be applied to the wheels in order to move it.
n is motors speed in rpm and r is wheelchair’s
Ftotal = Fr + FB = 205+17.2 = 222.2 N (10) wheel radius in m.
Where Ftotal is the total traction force which is the
4.2 Calculation of required power
sum of ascent resistance FB and the rolling
resistance Fr
In physics, power is the amount of energy
The torque needed on the wheel to overcome transferred per unit time.
these resistors is calculated by the formula:
P= dw/dt (14)
Ft = Mk * itot/rt => Mk = Ft*rt / itot (11)
Where P is the power in watts and it is defined as
Where Mk is the torque on the wheel in Nm a derived unit of dw1 joule per dt second
The rt the radius of the wheel and itot its gear Work results when a force acts upon an object to
transmission ratio from the motor to the wheel. cause a displacement (or a motion) or, in some
Four electric motors specially designed for power instances, to hinder a motion. Three variables are
wheelchairs were selected for the wheelchair, and of importance in this definition - force,
they also feature a release lever to allow the wheel displacement, and the extent to which the force
to move freely, when the user's helper is required causes or hinders the displacement. Each of these
to operate the vehicle. three variables find their way into the equation for
work. That equation is:
The motors have a diameter of 12inch (308mm)
with a working voltage of 24V, 250Watt and a W=F*χ (15)
fixed gear transmission ratio of 23: 1. Where W is the work in Joules, F is force in N and
χ is the displacement in meters.
Considering the above mathematical formulas and
knowing the velocity it follows that:
P = Ft*Vt (16)
Where P is the power in watts Ft is the traction
force in N and Vt is the velocity in m/s.
Theoretically, the power given to the vehicle,
when it moves at the maximum speed (3.54m/s) it
can develop (considering only the rolling
resistance):
P = Ft*Vt = 17.7N * 3.54 m/s = 62 Watt (17)

Fig. 4 The motor diagram The needed energy to drive the vehicle for one
hour is calculated by the formula:
The maximum torque that can be produced by the
motor according to its operating diagram (Figure E= P*t => E = 0.062Kwh (18)
4) is 20Nm and is enough to overcome the climb
and roll resistors.
Ft = Mk*itot / rt => Mk = Ft * rt / itot =>

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Fig. 5 The wheelchair design and development

Where E is the energy in Kwh, P is power in watt and experimental measurements. However, for
and t is the time in hours wheelchairs, there are no operating cycles. In the
previous calculations, the results were derived
According to the formula below, the vehicle needs
solely by considering the resistances of the
2.58Ah to move one hour at maximum speed. motion. In a realistic scenario, the vehicle was
assumed to be moving steadily with a mean
E = Qx*V/1000 => Qx=0.062*1000/24 => required torque of 7Nm. Based on this, traffic
0.062*1000/24 = 2.58Ah (19) autonomy was going to be calculated. This torque
leads to the two engines. Thus, each one
Where E is the energy needed in Ah, Qx is the corresponds to a torque equal to 3.5Nm.
capacity of the battery in Ah and V is the voltage According to the operating diagram of the motor,
of the battery used in the experiment equal to 24v. each drive produces about 100 watts of energy
4.3 Autonomy and has a performance level of about 73%.
Therefore, the required power is calculated from
Autonomy expresses the ability of a vehicle to the following formula:
travel a distance under strictly driving conditions. Pm=Pt/0.73
Autonomy is usually expressed in km but can also Pt=Pm*2=>Pt=169W (20)
be expressed in energy consumed. To calculate
the autonomy of an electric vehicle properly, it is
necessary to take into account operating cycles
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where Pm is the power produced in mechanical ►Medola F.O., Elui V.M., Santana C.D.A., Fortulan
energy with losses from motor efficiency. C.A. (2014). Aspects of manual wheelchair
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So, the energy consumed by the battery is: Physical Therapy Science 26(2): 313-8.
►Sibai, M.H.A. and Manap S.A., (2015). A Study on
E = Qx*v/1000 => Qx=0.169*1000/36 Smart Wheelchair Systems. International Journal of
=> Qx = 7.05Ah (21) Engineering Technology and sciences 4(1): 25-35
According to the above calculations, the ►Leaman, J., and La H.M., (2017). A Comprehensive
wheelchair runs 12Km in one hour and consumes Review of Smart Wheelchairs: Past, Present and
7.05Ah of the battery, so the vehicle can travel Future. IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine
Systems. 47(4): 486–499
about 43Km at a constant speed of 12Km / h with
►Sinyukov, D., Desmond, R., Dickerman, M.,
the 26Ah battery. Fleming, J., Schaufeld, J., Padir. T., (2014) Multi-
The final result was the development of a new modal control framework for a semi-autonomous
wheelchair (Figure 5), in order people to wheelchair using modular sensor designs. Intelligent
overcome difficulties that they currently cannot Service Robotics. 7(3): 145–155.
independently manage. It has been embodied in a ►Yayan, U., Akar, B., Inan, F., and Yazici A. (2014).
prototype, which can be treated as a fully Development of indoor navigation software for
functional wheelchair and be both ridden and intelligent wheelchair. 22nd Signal Processing and
evaluated. Communications Applications Conference (SIU) 405-
408.
►Jain S., Argall. B., (2014). Automated perception of
5 CONCLUSIONS safe docking locations with alignment information for
assistive wheelchairs. In IEEE/RSJ International
During the last years, computer systems and Conference On Intelligent Robots and Systems. 4997–
sensors have been faster and smaller, while 5002.
software has become smarter than ever before. ►Leishman, F., Monfort, V., Horn, O., and Bourhis.
Many researchers have developed prototypes in G., (2014). Driving assistance by deictic control for a
order to be able to accommodate people with all smart wheelchair: The assessment issue. IEEE
disability types by utilizing computer vision, Transactions on Human-Machine Systems. 44(1): 66–
touch, voice, even artificial intelligence. During 77
the design process, the human factors should be ► Gao, C., Miller, T., Spletzer, J. R., Hoffman, I., and
Panzarella. T., (2008). Autonomous Docking of a Smart
taken into account, so wheelchairs made
Wheelchair for the Automated Transport and Retrieval
customizable to the individual user’s preferences, System (ATRS). Journal of Field Robotics. 25(4-5):
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quality of life. Motivated by the need to set up ►Gao, C., Sands, M., and Spletzer. J.R., (2010).
usability, safety and reliability of an autonomous Autonomous. Wheelchair System. In Urban
wheelchair, this research represents a paradigm to Environments. Field and Service Robot.: Results of the
empower the mobility of individuals with 7th Int. Conference Berlin Heidelberg. 13–23.
disabilities. Furthermore, provides information ►Mori Y. and Nakada A. (2018). Wheelchair-Portable
that could be used for further development of Patient Lift. Journal of Medical Devices 13(1)
current and future products for disabled people. ►VanderWiel, J., Harris, B., Jackson, C., & Reese, N.
The new technology implemented through the (2016). Exploring the relationship of rolling resistance
development of this wheelchair offers a and misalignment angle in wheelchair rear
differentiation from currently offered solutions on wheels. RESNA, Arlington, VA, 12.
the market, which means that there is a
competitive advantage. Of course, even though
this project has given a satisfactory result, there is
still a need for further discussion before this
technology could be fully introduced to the
intended user group.
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