Article

Some individuals with disabilities are denied powered mobility because they lack
the visual, motor, and/or cognitive skills required to safely operate a power
wheelchair. The Drive-Safe System (DSS) is an add-on, distributed, shared-control
navigation assistance system for power wheelchairs intended to provide safe and
independent mobility to such individuals. The DSS is a human-machine system in
which the user is responsible for high-level control of the wheelchair, such as
choosing the destination, path planning, and basic navigation actions, while the
DSS overrides unsafe maneuvers through autonomous collision avoidance, wall
following, and door crossing. In this project, the DSS was clinically evaluated
in a controlled laboratory with blindfolded, nondisabled individuals. Further,
these individuals' performance with the DSS was compared with standard cane use
for navigation assistance by people with visual impairments. Results indicate
that compared with a cane, the DSS significantly reduced the number of
collisions. Users rated the DSS favorably even though they took longer to
navigate the same obstacle course than they would have using a standard long
cane. Participants experienced less physical demand, effort, and frustration when
using the DSS as compared with a cane. These findings suggest that the DSS can be
a viable powered mobility solution for wheelchair users with visual impairments.

Langue : ANGLAIS