MOVEMENT -Modular Versatile Mobility Enhancement System

Although powered wheelchairs provide a well established solution for severely impaired persons they do not cover all needs regarding mobility of people with impairment. In the course of the EC funded research project MOVEMENT a novel approach for a highly adaptable and modular mobility enhancement system is targeted to cover additional user needs. A system consisting of a robotic platform and several dockable application modules is developed that additionally provides assistance for the driving process itself to the user or even takes over the complete driving autonomously. The project also includes development of new solutions for navigation of mobile robot systems including a "low-cost" sensor system as well as adaptable HMI components. This paper describes the concept and the first prototyping results.