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Curb Negotiation With Dynamic Human-Robotic Wheelchair Collaboration
Jorge L Candiotti1, Brandon J Daveler2, Sivashankar Sivakanthan2
1Center of Excellence in Wheelchairs and Robotics Engineering, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare Systems and Human Engineering Research Laboratories, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 USA.
IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems
|April 18, 2022
Summary
The Mobility Enhancement Robotic (MEBot) wheelchair helps wheelchair users overcome curbs. This robotic wheelchair was found to be effective, usable, and required low effort, enhancing community accessibility.
Area of Science:
- Robotics
- Assistive Technology
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Architectural barriers like curbs significantly limit wheelchair users' mobility and community participation.
- Existing mobility solutions often struggle to address common environmental obstacles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness, usability, and user experience of the Mobility Enhancement Robotic (MEBot) wheelchair for navigating curbs.
- To assess the performance of a semiautomated curb negotiation application developed based on user feedback.
Main Methods:
- Ten experienced wheelchair users tested the MEBot wheelchair on curbs of varying heights.
- Participants evaluated the system's effectiveness, workload demand, and usability.
- Performance metrics included completion time, stability, and subjective user feedback.
Main Results:
- Participants successfully ascended and descended curbs, with average times of 55.7s and 30.3s respectively.
- The MEBot wheelchair maintained stability throughout the curb negotiation process.
- Users reported low effort, frustration, and cognitive demand, expressing satisfaction with ease of use.
Conclusions:
- The MEBot wheelchair effectively enhances accessibility for users by enabling automated curb negotiation.
- User feedback led to optimization, resulting in a usable and low-demand system.
- Suggestions for improvement include comfort adjustments and increased speed for real-world application.
