Experiment on operating methods of an electric wheelchair for a system of detecting position and direction

In this paper, we propose a voice-controlled electric wheelchair with a system for detecting the position and direction. Thus far, we have studied systems that incorporated voice instructions with our indoor navigation equipment using RF tags. An operating method which is different in order to clarify the problem of the operation method of an existing wheelchair was measured in the same environment. We then evaluated the results from the viewpoint of the usability of each operation in order to determine the most suitable assisting operation. We found that it is very effective to memorize one of the possible stopping positions and the angles of rotations to desired directions, which could adequately assist the movement of a wheelchair.