The development of an intelligent wheelchair

An on-going R&D project to build a series of intelligent autonomous wheelchairs is discussed. A standardized autonomy management system for common power wheelchairs available on the market is being developed. A behavior-based approach is used to establish sufficient on-board autonomy at minimal cost, material usage, efficiency, maximum safety, transparency in appearance, and extendability. Two power wheelchairs have so far been built and tried with the add-on system. Initial results are highly encouraging.