Smart Wheelchair with Voice Control and Device Following Capability

Abstract

One billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, experience some form of disability, and disability prevalence is higher in developing countries. Such disabilities stem from accidents, diseases, etc., and the people it affects need good and accessible solutions. Physical disabilities, which impact a person’s ability to move, often come with other disabilities, and this makes the use of assistive equipment such as wheelchairs inadequate. People with additional impairments of hands and arms find it difficult to use a traditional wheelchair. One of the existing solutions for this, is the utilization of wheelchairs that can be controlled through voice commands. Despite that, there remains a subset of people who are unable to navigate their wheelchair on their own and rely on the assistance of a caretaker. To overcome the mentioned challenge, the objective of this work is to design and develop a Smart Wheelchair with Voice Control and Device Following Capability. The wheelchair is operated using voice commands given by the user. Another mode of operation included in the smart wheelchair is to follow a caretaker which eliminates the need for the caretaker to manually push the wheelchair. The automatic obstacle detection system is integrated into the developed wheelchair by using ultrasonic sensors in order to stop the wheelchair whenever any obstacles come in the way, to ensure smooth and safe movement.