Assistive Robotic Technologies for Next-Generation Smart Wheelchairs: Codesign and Modularity to Improve Users’ Quality of Life

This article describes the robotic assistive technologies developed for users of electrically powered wheelchairs, within the framework of the European Union’s Interreg ADAPT (Assistive Devices for Empowering Disabled People Through Robotic Technologies) project. In particular, special attention is devoted to the integration of advanced sensing modalities and the design of new shared control algorithms. In response to the clinical needs identified by our medical partners, two novel smart wheelchairs with complementary capabilities and a virtual reality (VR)-based wheelchair simulator have been developed. These systems have been validated via extensive experimental campaigns in France and the United Kingdom.