A Robotic Wheelchair Trainer: Design Overview and A Feasibility Study
By Marchal-Crespo, Laura; Furumasu, Jan; Reinkensmeyer, David J.; Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, Vol. 7, No. 40Publication Date: August 2010
Paper describes the development of a robotic wheelchair trainer. The trainer steers itself along a course marked by a line on the floor using computer vision, haptically guiding the driver’s hand in appropriate steering motions using a force feedback joystick, as the driver tries to catch a mobile robot in a game of tag. A pilot study with the chair was conducted with 22 children without motor impairments aged 4 to 9 years, who were taught to drive the wheelchair in a single session. Training with haptic guidance from the robotic wheelchair improved participants’ steering ability significantly more than training without guidance. An 8-year-old girl with cerebral palsy and severe motor impairment replicated the single-session training protocol, demonstrating improved steering ability following training with guidance from the joystick by a amount even greater than the children without motor impairment.
Published by: BioMed Central Ltd (Website:http://www.biomedcentral.com)
