Powered wheelchair driving performance using force- and position-sensing joysticks

Ten unimpaired subjects participated in a study to evaluate the manual use of joysticks to drive an electrically powered wheelchair (PWC). Using a conventional position-sensing joystick (PSJ) and a prototype, force-sensing joystick (FSJ), each subject drove the PWC over a track marked on the floor of a gymnasium. A camera recorded the position of the PWC with respect to the track. Recordings were digitized using a motion analysis system, and images were processed to measure tracking errors. All subjects were able to successfully drive the PWC using each joystick. A two-tailed paired t-test (p<0.05) on the root-mean-square-error showed no significant difference between the joysticks for the group. This demonstrated that the FSJ was an effective device for driving a PWC. Further studies will evaluate the FSJ performance in more detail, particularly by experienced PWC users.