Forward and backward motion control of wheelchair on two wheels

The challenge in designing wheelchair on two wheels involves the design and implementation of suitable control strategies for a two wheeled wheelchair to perform comparably similar to a normal four wheeled wheelchair. It is important to note that a wheelchair on two wheels is expected not to take much space during mobility as compared to when it is on four wheels. Moreover, disabled people are encouraged and expected to perform most activities that others can do and hence lead an independent life. Thus, wheelchairs on two wheels are needed for disabled persons to perform some of the essential tasks in their living and work environments. In this research a model of the standard wheelchair is developed as a test and verification platform using Visual Nastran software. Novel fuzzy logic control strategies are designed for lifting up the chair transforming a four-wheeled wheelchair to a two-wheeled wheelchair) and maintaining stability and balance while on two wheels. Furthermore, position control for forward and backward mobility of the wheelchair on two wheels is developed using fuzzy logic control. Simulation results of the proposed control strategy are presented and discussed

Regression between headmaster leadership, task load and job satisfaction of special education integration program teacher

Managing school is a daunting task for a headmaster. This responsibility is exacerbated when it involves the Special Education Integration Program (SEIP). This situation requires appropriate and effective leadership in addressing some of the issues that are currently taking place at SEIP such as task load and job satisfaction. This study aimed to identify the influence of headmaster leadership on task load and teacher job satisfaction at SEIP. This quantitative study was conducted by distributing 400 sets of randomized questionnaires to SEIP teachers across Malaysia through google form. The data obtained were then analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and AMOS software. The results show that there is a significant positive effect on the leadership of the headmaster and the task load of the teacher. Likewise, the construct of task load and teacher job satisfaction has a significant positive effect. However, for the construct of headmaster leadership and teacher job satisfaction, there was no significant positive relationship. This finding is very important as a reference to the school administration re-evaluating their leadership so as not to burden SEIP teachers and to give them job satisfaction. In addition, the findings of this study can also serve as a guide for SEIP teachers to increase awareness of the importance of managing their tasks. This study also focused on education leadership in general and more specifically on special education leadership

Climbing and Walking Robots

Nowadays robotics is one of the most dynamic fields of scientific researches. The shift of robotics researches from manufacturing to services applications is clear. During the last decades interest in studying climbing and walking robots has been increased. This increasing interest has been in many areas that most important ones of them are: mechanics, electronics, medical engineering, cybernetics, controls, and computers. Today’s climbing and walking robots are a combination of manipulative, perceptive, communicative, and cognitive abilities and they are capable of performing many tasks in industrial and non- industrial environments. Surveillance, planetary exploration, emergence rescue operations, reconnaissance, petrochemical applications, construction, entertainment, personal services, intervention in severe environments, transportation, medical and etc are some applications from a very diverse application fields of climbing and walking robots. By great progress in this area of robotics it is anticipated that next generation climbing and walking robots will enhance lives and will change the way the human works, thinks and makes decisions. This book presents the state of the art achievments, recent developments, applications and future challenges of climbing and walking robots. These are presented in 24 chapters by authors throughtot the world The book serves as a reference especially for the researchers who are interested in mobile robots. It also is useful for industrial engineers and graduate students in advanced study

Lifting and stabilizing of two-wheeled wheelchair system using interval type-2 fuzzy logic control based spiral dynamic algorithm

The current study emphasizes on improving an interval type-2 fuzzy logic control (IT2FLC) system through the use of spiral dynamics algorithm (SDA) optimization in stabilizing a transformational two-wheeled wheelchair. The main contribution of this research is to reduce vibrations while performing the lifting and stabilization of a wheelchair from its standard four-wheeled to two-wheeled transformation. IT2FLC based SDA was used to enhance the system’s stability performance by obtaining the optimized value for input and output controller gains and IT2FLC parameters for IT2FLC. System modeling was done through development within the SimWise 4D software environment, which was then integrated with MATLAB/SIMULINK for control purposes. The proposed algorithm has demonstrated improved tilt angle performance with reduced noise and lower torque when various disturbances were applied, as compared to a system solely controlled by IT2FLC without any optimization. Moreover, the proposed algorithm has also comprehensively outperformed previous controllers in terms of system’s stability, further demonstrated its superiority as a system controller within transformational wheelchairs

Conceptual Design and Simulation of An Inverted Pendulum Wheelchair

The need to develop advanced wheelchairs especially for improving better mobility and comfort to help disabled people has led to an investigation into spherical inverted pendulum wheelchair concept. The wheelchair's concept is based around the dynamic and control of spherical inverted pendulum.The investigation starts with the stabilisation of the inverted pendulum using some various control strategies and command tracking capabilities also evaluated. Several different type control strategies are evaluated. These include (1) pole placement (2) PID and (3) Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR). The stabilisation and tracking command performance of each control strategy is examined through simulation. The result shows all these three control strategies are capable to control the inverted pendulum system. But as the spherical inverted pendulum system is a MIMO system which has eight states and two inputs the LQR control strategy is more convenient to use for controlling the spherical inverted pendulum wheelchair.The dynamic equation for the spherical inverted pendulum wheelchair is presented and the modelling in SimMechanics also developed. The model is controlled by feedback control using LQR. The simulation shows that the body which represents the chair and the occupant is balanced on a spherical ball through four rollers (two driven and two idler) successfully. Thus the new wheelchair concept based upon the dynamic and control of spherical inverted pendulum has the potential to offer improved mobility compared with existing wheelchairs in the market place

Design and Development of Assistive Robots for Close Interaction with People with Disabilities

People with mobility and manipulation impairments wish to live and perform tasks as independently as possible; however, for many tasks, compensatory technology does not exist, to do so. Assistive robots have the potential to address this need. This work describes various aspects of the development of three novel assistive robots: the Personal Mobility and Manipulation Appliance (PerMMA), the Robotic Assisted Transfer Device (RATD), and the Mobility Enhancement Robotic Wheelchair (MEBot). PerMMA integrates mobility with advanced bi-manual manipulation to assist people with both upper and lower extremity impairments. The RATD is a wheelchair mounted robotic arm that can lift higher payloads and its primary aim is to assist caregivers of people who cannot independently transfer from their electric powered wheelchair to other surfaces such as a shower bench or toilet. MEBot is a wheeled robot that has highly reconfigurable kinematics, which allow it to negotiate challenging terrain, such as steep ramps, gravel, or stairs. A risk analysis was performed on all three robots which included a Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and a Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) to identify potential risks and inform strategies to mitigate them. Identified risks or PerMMA include dropping sharp or hot objects. Critical risks identified for RATD included tip over, crush hazard, and getting stranded mid-transfer, and risks for MEBot include getting stranded on obstacles and tip over. Lastly, several critical factors, such as early involvement of people with disabilities, to guide future assistive robot design are presented

Diagnostic and adaptive redundant robotic planning and control

Neural networks and fuzzy logic are combined into a hierarchical structure capable of planning, diagnosis, and control for a redundant, nonlinear robotic system in a real world scenario. Throughout this work levels of this overall approach are demonstrated for a redundant robot and hand combination as it is commanded to approach, grasp, and successfully manipulate objects for a wheelchair-bound user in a crowded, unpredictable environment. Four levels of hierarchy are developed and demonstrated, from the lowest level upward: diagnostic individual motor control, optimal redundant joint allocation for trajectory planning, grasp planning with tip and slip control, and high level task planning for multiple arms and manipulated objects. Given the expectations of the user and of the constantly changing nature of processes, the robot hierarchy learns from its experiences in order to more efficiently execute the next related task, and allocate this knowledge to the appropriate levels of planning and control. The above approaches are then extended to automotive and space applications

Climbing and Walking Robots

With the advancement of technology, new exciting approaches enable us to render mobile robotic systems more versatile, robust and cost-efficient. Some researchers combine climbing and walking techniques with a modular approach, a reconfigurable approach, or a swarm approach to realize novel prototypes as flexible mobile robotic platforms featuring all necessary locomotion capabilities. The purpose of this book is to provide an overview of the latest wide-range achievements in climbing and walking robotic technology to researchers, scientists, and engineers throughout the world. Different aspects including control simulation, locomotion realization, methodology, and system integration are presented from the scientific and from the technical point of view. This book consists of two main parts, one dealing with walking robots, the second with climbing robots. The content is also grouped by theoretical research and applicative realization. Every chapter offers a considerable amount of interesting and useful information