Robotic Individualized Driving Evaluation (RIDE): Design and Preliminary Evaluation

Power wheelchair driving entails safety risks, including tips and collisions. Thus, driving assessments are important to safeguard both drivers and their surroundings. However, current driving assessments are deterministic, whereas driving itself is stochastic due to individual and environmental uncertainty. Moreover, disabilities magnify this uncertainty. In this study, a robotic wheelchair was used for a novel function: stochastic assessment of PWC driving. The Robotic Individualized Driving Evaluation (RIDE) is a stochastic assessment that contrasts with deterministic assessments by accounting for individual differences via assessment profiles. The robotic wheelchair acquired the information needed for the stochastic model, and a probabilistic risk score was formulated. The purpose of this preliminary study was to test the effect of assessment profiles within and between driving tasks. Within tasks, there were significant differences in RIDE risk between the profiles. Between tasks, there were significant differences in the new stochastic RIDE metrics but not in the conventional deterministic metrics. Results demonstrated potential for this novel use of robotic wheelchairs to support personalized assessment and training in power mobility rehabilitation.