Design and Development of the Mobility Enhancement Robotic Wheelchair

The electric powered wheelchair (EPW) currently provides mobility for an estimated 330,000 people with disabilities in the USA and is expected to rise due to the aging of the baby boomers and injured troops returning from war. Even though the EPW was developed to provide an increase in mobility, current designs are primarily for usage in indoor environments. As a result, when users leave the confines of their home they may encounter hazardous environments such as uneven terrain and architectural barriers. These types of environments increase the users’ risk of tipping or falling out of the wheelchair which may lead to serious injury or death. The Mobility Enhancement Robotic Wheelchair (MEBot) was developed to increase user safety and to provide the ability to overcome uneven terrain and architectural barriers. MEBot provides advanced features to increase the users’ safety including self-leveling, curb climbing, and driving wheel position selection. The self-leveling feature maintains the position of the seating system when driving up, down, or across slopes which decreases the possibility of the user tipping or falling out of the wheelchair. The curb climbing feature allows the user to overcome up to an 8 inch curb. Finally, selecting the driving wheel position allows the user to configure MEBot as either a front wheel drive, mid wheel drive, or rear wheel drive power chair. With the addition of the advanced features, MEBot increases the safety and ability of the user to drive in outdoor environments while maintaining maneuverability when used in an indoor environment