Gesture recognition system for wheelchair control using a depth sensor

In usual wheelchair user control the wheelchair using the joystick. However, the user can't control the joystick when the user holds an object by both hands. We have developed a gesture control system of the wheelchair. This system consists of an electric-powered wheelchair with an experimental structure, a depth sensor, and a PC. In our system, the wheelchair moves according to the position of the hand. We use a depth sensor in order to recognize the hand gesture quickly. The proposed system offers a “hands freedom” sense to the user, simplifying their daily activities by using the hands movements as the direction-control input. The effectiveness of our system is clarified by several experimental results.