//GestureWheelChair - Automating the Wheel Chair with Hand Gestures
What?
The person using the wheel chair holds the gesture controller. This gesture band is connected wirelessly to the motorized wheel chair that he uses. Hand gestures such as raising fingers. tilting palms are used to control the motion of the wheel chair. Raising fingers up takes the wheel chair ahead, lowering the fingers takes it back, tilting the palms to the right turns the wheelchair to the right while tilting the palms to the left turns it left.
In order to avoid unintended motions, a safety switch is incorporated at the joint of the index finger. The acceleration of the wheel chair is determined by the angle of the tilt or how fast / slow one raises / lowers the fingers.
The prototype of the GestureWheelChair has been demonstrated at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur's National Technical Exhibition, at VJTI's National Technical Exhibition and at the Innovative Technologies in Manufacturing Expo.
Why?
Traditionally we have had button controls for the motorized wheel chair. After talks with several wheel chair users we understood that a psychological feeling of machine overpowering the man arises since the buttons are visualized as a part of the machine. With an aim to use an alternative which would be received as a psychologically friendly device, we took up the challenge of integrating gesture technology with the wheel chair.
How?
The gestures are captured with an accelerometer fitted in the band. The co-ordinate data is continuously sent to the Atmega8L microprocessor, care is taken to ensure zero interference with the signal. The data is first filtered for unintentional gestures and error corrections before being interfaced with the motor for control. A facility to calibrate the band is provided.
And..
The research for this product has led us to make a generic system for controlling household appliances (tv, refrigerator, ACs, ovens and even curtains, doors and windows) with the gesture band. This research has been reflected in the paper "Handicap Assistance Device for Appliance Control using User-Defined Gestures" which has been accepted at the International Conference on Machine Learning and Computing 2010.
Watch this space for the prototype video.
//GestureWheelChair - Automating the Wheel Chair with Hand Gestures
What?
The person using the wheel chair holds the gesture controller. This gesture band is connected wirelessly to the motorized wheel chair that he uses. Hand gestures such as raising fingers. tilting palms are used to control the motion of the wheel chair. Raising fingers up takes the wheel chair ahead, lowering the fingers takes it back, tilting the palms to the right turns the wheelchair to the right while tilting the palms to the left turns it left.
In order to avoid unintended motions, a safety switch is incorporated at the joint of the index finger. The acceleration of the wheel chair is determined by the angle of the tilt or how fast / slow one raises / lowers the fingers.
The prototype of the GestureWheelChair has been demonstrated at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur's National Technical Exhibition, at VJTI's National Technical Exhibition and at the Innovative Technologies in Manufacturing Expo.
Why?
Traditionally we have had button controls for the motorized wheel chair. After talks with several wheel chair users we understood that a psychological feeling of machine overpowering the man arises since the buttons are visualized as a part of the machine. With an aim to use an alternative which would be received as a psychologically friendly device, we took up the challenge of integrating gesture technology with the wheel chair.
How?
The gestures are captured with an accelerometer fitted in the band. The co-ordinate data is continuously sent to the Atmega8L microprocessor, care is taken to ensure zero interference with the signal. The data is first filtered for unintentional gestures and error corrections before being interfaced with the motor for control. A facility to calibrate the band is provided.
And..
The research for this product has led us to make a generic system for controlling household appliances (tv, refrigerator, ACs, ovens and even curtains, doors and windows) with the gesture band. This research has been reflected in the paper "Handicap Assistance Device for Appliance Control using User-Defined Gestures" which has been accepted at the International Conference on Machine Learning and Computing 2010.
