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Smart Power Assistance Module for Manual Wheelchairs

Detailed Technology Description

None

*Abstract

BackgroundThe American Federation for the Blind (AFB) has estimated that 9.61% of all individuals who are legally blind also use a wheelchair or scooter, and an additional 5.25% of individuals who have serious difficulties seeing (but are not legally blind) also use a wheelchair or scooter. TechnologyPower assistance for a manual wheelchair is a new technology which helps people use manual wheelchairs despite limited strength or endurance. In a power assisted manual wheelchair, the traditional rear wheels are replaced with motorized hubs that serve to magnify the force applied to the rear wheels by the user. The innovators are using power assistance as the basis for a Smart Power Assistance Module (SPAM) that provides independent mobility to non-ambulatory individuals. The SPAM uses sensors to detect obstacles and drop-offs near the wheelchair, and uses the motorized hubs to help the wheelchair user avoid obstacles. The SPAM is based on the Yamaha JWII Power Assist Wheelchair Hubs, recently approved by the FDA.Applications1) For individuals with both a visual impairment and a mobility impairment that makes it difficult or impossible to travel independently using a white cane, dog guide, or other traditional mobility aid for the visually impaired. 2) Also benefits individuals with hemiplegia, which is often caused by stroke or a spinal cord injury.Advantages1) Enables individuals who experience difficulty in moving a wheelchair inside a van, or in other confined spaces such as elevators and bathrooms to more easily navigate.2) Provide a means for visually impaired manual wheelchair users to avoid obstacles without the intervention of the wheelchair user. 3) Provide a means for allowing mechanically linked wheels of a manual power-assisted wheelchair to perform a course correction independent of the linked wheel.

*Principal Investigator

Name: Rory Cooper, Director, Human Engineering Research Lab

Department: SHRS-Rehab Sci & Tech

Name: Roland Frisch

Department: SHRS-Rehab Sci & Tech

Name: Songfeng Guo, Research Scientist

Department: Human Eng. Research Lab.

Name: Steven Hayashi

Department:

Name: Edmund LoPresti

Department:

Name: Andrew Martin

Department:

Name: Richard Simpson

Department: SHRS-Rehab Sci & Tech

Country/Region

USA