Robohub.org
 

Shared control for wheelchairs


by
08 January 2011



share this:

To help aging populations with mobility, researchers are developing robotic wheelchairs. Typically, control switches between the user of the wheelchair and the robot when tasks become difficult or dangerous.

However, users sometimes become frustrated when losing control of the wheelchair and complete autonomy may lead to the patient losing certain capabilities (which are not practiced any more). Therefore, it is important to provide the right amount of help to the patient: no more, no less.

For this purpose, Urdiales et al. implement a control strategy where the robot and user continuously share control of the wheelchair. This is done by combining commands sent by the user using a joystick with commands computed by a potential field that ensures that the robot is repulsed from obstacles while being attracted to a goal. Both commands receive a weight based on how efficient the user and robot are at a given task. The resulting command is used to control the wheelchair.

The wheelchair, augmented with odometry and a frontal Hokuyo laser URG04-RX for localization and obstacle detection, was tested in a rehabilitation hospital by 30 users with different degrees of cognitive and physical disabilities. Users were asked to go through a door, proceed down a hallway, turn around in the hallway and come back. In other tests, users simply needed to go down a hallway.

All patients were successful at completing the navigation task using shared control. Furthermore, shared control improved performance of both the human and robot, helped patients learn how to use electric wheelchairs and avoided all collisions. Interestingly, shared control tends to equalize performance among patients with different disabilities, meaning the control is able to adapt to each patient’s needs.

In the future, Urdiales et al. plan on testing their system in more complex, human-like scenarios and with patients who have more severe disabilities.




Sabine Hauert is President of Robohub and Associate Professor at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory
Sabine Hauert is President of Robohub and Associate Professor at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory





Related posts :



Livestream of RoboCup2025

  18 Jul 2025
Watch the competition live from Salvador!

Tackling the 3D Simulation League: an interview with Klaus Dorer and Stefan Glaser

and   15 Jul 2025
With RoboCup2025 starting today, we found out more about the 3D simulation league, and the new simulator they have in the works.

An interview with Nicolai Ommer: the RoboCupSoccer Small Size League

and   01 Jul 2025
We caught up with Nicolai to find out more about the Small Size League, how the auto referees work, and how teams use AI.

RoboCupRescue: an interview with Adam Jacoff

and   25 Jun 2025
Find out what's new in the RoboCupRescue League this year.

Robot Talk Episode 126 – Why are we building humanoid robots?

  20 Jun 2025
In this special live recording at Imperial College London, Claire chatted to Ben Russell, Maryam Banitalebi Dehkordi, and Petar Kormushev about humanoid robotics.

Gearing up for RoboCupJunior: Interview with Ana Patrícia Magalhães

and   18 Jun 2025
We hear from the organiser of RoboCupJunior 2025 and find out how the preparations are going for the event.

Robot Talk Episode 125 – Chatting with robots, with Gabriel Skantze

  13 Jun 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Gabriel Skantze from KTH Royal Institute of Technology about having natural face-to-face conversations with robots.

Preparing for kick-off at RoboCup2025: an interview with General Chair Marco Simões

and   12 Jun 2025
We caught up with Marco to find out what exciting events are in store at this year's RoboCup.



 

Robohub is supported by:




Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?


scicomm
training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI


©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence


 












©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence