Hardware and software solutions for a conventional electric-powered wheelchair

In this paper is presented a hardware and software solution for controlling an electric-powered wheelchair for persons with disabilities. It was implemented an odometric system using two encoders and the programmable environment Matlab/Simulink, also it has been design an PI controller for the DC motors. It is also presented an obstacle avoidance system using an laser sensor. To verify the effectiveness of proposed solution, experiments were carried out. The wheelchair platform considered in this paper is a differential drive platform with two passive front caster wheels and two active rear wheels.