Wheelchair users' perceptions of a system enabling them to traverse rough terrain controlling their own wheelchair

We recently developed a dynamic mimicking system that mounts a user's wheelchair onto a carrier platform capable of performing required manoeuvres using the wheelchair's own controls. Two wheelchair user studies were performed to evaluate users' perception of their own wheelchair and the proposed system. The first user study included ten wheelchair users who were interviewed in order to map their current perceptions toward their wheelchair and their views about its shortcomings when traversing rough terrains. In the second study, the system was explained to 33 participants who were then exposed to three simulations of its main features. Participants were interviewed and the experimenter wrote down their answers, which were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 27 software. The conclusions are that special consideration should be given to motorized wheelchair users, and that the designers of the system should include a user interface that explains and demonstrates the system to users.