An embedded control system for intelligent wheelchair.

Due to recent advancement of AI and robotics technology, the research of intelligent wheelchair (iWheelChair) begins to draw attention from both scientific community and industry. iWheelchair is a kind of home welfare tools and can help the handicapped and elderly people to gain mobility and lead to independent life. This paper describes a newly developed intelligent wheelchair. The controller of the iWheelChair adopts the advanced DSP technology, and plays the role of data acquisition and processing of joystick and ultrasonic sensors. 8 ultrasonic sensors are mounted on iWheelchair and can detect the environment changes for safe operation. Experiments are presented to show that iWheelChair is able to avoid obstacles safely while controlled by its user via the joystick.