Collision Avoidance Algorithm of an Intelligent Wheelchair Considering the User's Safety with a Moving Obstacle

탑승자의 안전을 고려한 지능형 휠체어의 단일 이동 장애물 충돌회피 알고리즘

As the ageing population grows around the world, the demand for electric wheelchairs, an important mobility assistance device for the disabled and elderly, is gradually increasing. Therefore, a number of studies related to intelligent wheelchairs are actively underway to improve safety and comfort for wheelchair users. However, previous collision avoidance studies for intelligent wheelchairs have concentrated on collision avoidance methods with the shortest distance and by only changing either velocity or heading angle, rather than considering the forces exerted on the user. If a collision avoidance algorithm that does not consider these forces is applied to an intelligent wheelchair, there is a possibility of an accident due to falling as wheelchair users are generally disabled and elderly people. In this paper, we propose a collision avoidance algorithm which minimizes the forces exerted on a wheelchair user by minimizing the variation of the wheelchair's velocity and heading angle when the sizes, positions, velocities, and heading angles of a wheelchair and a moving obstacle are known.