ExtendedHand on Wheelchair

In this paper, we present a novel welfare system which utilizes a spatial augmented reality technique. Hand is a crucial component in human-human communication. For example, we can intuitively indicate an object or place by reaching and pointing it to nearby partners. Unfortunately, for wheelchair users, such communication is often limited because their reaching ranges are narrow, and moving their bodies to the target is tiresome. To solve this issue, we propose a novel wheelchair system on which a battery-powered mobile projector is mounted. A user manipulates the projected virtual hand as an extension of the real one using a touch panel equipped on an armrest of the wheelchair. We implement our proposed system and demonstrate the effectiveness.