Dynamic control of an electrical wheelchair on an incline

Abstract

Safe mobility of the disabled is one of the major reasons for the study of electric powered wheelchairs. To achieve absolute safety - where possible accident is not attributed to by the user's inability, the wheelchair should be as easy as possible to control in nearly every kind of environment. A reliable controller can only be designed from a reliable dynamic model. In this paper, consider a 3D dynamic model of a powered wheelchair having two active hind wheels and two front passive caster wheels has been considered. The developed model takes into account dynamic situations of the wheelchair in both uphill and downhill movements as well as movements on flat surfaces. Euler Lagrange procedure has been used in the derivation of the model's equation of motion then gravitational force added. Input-output feedback linearisation has then been applied in the development of the control law used in the model.