Evaluation of power wheelchair driving performance in simulator compared to driving in real-life situations: the SIMADAPT (simulator ADAPT) project-a pilot study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate users' driving performances with a Power Wheelchair (PWC) driving simulator in comparison to the same driving task in real conditions with a standard power wheelchair.

Methods: Three driving circuits of progressive difficulty levels (C1, C2, C3) that were elaborated to assess the driving performances with PWC in indoor situations, were used in this study. These circuits have been modeled in a 3D Virtual Environment to replicate the three driving task scenarios in Virtual Reality (VR).

Model-Based Upper-Limb Gravity Compensation Strategies for Active Dynamic Arm Supports.

NeuroMuscular Disorders (NMDs) may induce difficulties to perform daily life activities in autonomy. For people with NMDs affecting the upper-limb mobility, Dynamic Arm Supports (DASs) turn out to be relevant assistive devices. In particular, active DASs benefit from an external power source to support severely impaired people.

SWADAPT2: benefits of a collision avoidance assistance for powered wheelchair users in driving difficulty.

Purpose: In France, tens of thousands of people use a wheelchair. Driving powered wheelchairs (PWCs) present risks for users and their families. The risk of collision in PWC driver increases with severity of disability and may reduce their independence to drive.

Robotics at the Service of Wheelchair Mobility for People with Disabilities: Story of a Clinical-Scientific Partnership.

The mobility of people with motor disabilities combined with sensory or cognitive disabilities, sometimes leads to safety issues that make independent travel impossible. In this context, teams based in Rennes in the west of France have been working together for several years to design two devices: - an power wheelchair simulator to promote learning to drive in an immersive virtual environment - a driving assistance module that can be added to an power wheelchair to pass and avoid obstacles. This transdisciplinary work was made possible by the geographical and human proximity of the scientific, technical and clinical teams in order to best meet the needs of the end users who were integrated into this co-design approach.

SWALKIT: A generic augmented walker kit to provide haptic feedback navigation assistance to people with both visual and motor impairments.

Feedback solutions are a privileged form of assistance in order to increase mobility and independence of people with both motor and visual impairments. Indeed, it empowers the ability of the person to make decisions and take actions based on the provided information. Moreover, it maintains the use of the walker, and thus the residual locomotor skills.

SWADAPT1: assessment of an electric wheelchair-driving robotic module in standardized circuits: a prospective, controlled repeated measure design pilot study.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to highlight the effect of a robotic driver assistance module of powered wheelchair (PWC), using infrared sensors and accessorizing a commercial wheelchair) on the reduction of the number of collisions in standardized circuit in a population with neurological disorders by comparing driving performance with and without assistance.

Methods: This is a prospective, single-center, controlled, repeated measure design, single-blind pilot study including patients with neurological disabilities who are usual drivers of electric wheelchairs. The main criterion for evaluating the device is the number of collisions with and without the assistance of a prototype anti-collision system on three circuits of increasing complexity.

Power Wheelchair Navigation Assistance Using Wearable Vibrotactile Haptics.

People with severe disabilities often rely on power wheelchairs for moving around. However, if their driving abilities are affected by their condition, driving a power wheelchair can become very dangerous, both for themselves and the surrounding environment. This article proposes the use of wearable vibrotactile haptics for wheelchair navigation assistance.

User-centered design of a multisensory power wheelchair simulator: towards training and rehabilitation applications.

Autonomy and social inclusion can reveal themselves everyday challenges for people experiencing mobility impairments. These people can benefit from technical aids such as power wheelchairs to access mobility and overcome social exclusion. However, power wheelchair driving is a challenging task which requires good visual, cognitive and visuo-spatial abilities.

Design of an immersive simulator for assisted power wheelchair driving.

Driving a power wheelchair is a difficult and complex visual-cognitive task. As a result, some people with visual and/or cognitive disabilities cannot access the benefits of a power wheelchair because their impairments prevent them from driving safely. In order to improve their access to mobility, we have previously designed a semi-autonomous assistive wheelchair system which progressively corrects the trajectory as the user manually drives the wheelchair and smoothly avoids obstacles.

Probabilistic vs linear blending approaches to shared control for wheelchair driving.

Some people with severe mobility impairments are unable to operate powered wheelchairs reliably and effectively, using commercially available interfaces. This has sparked a body of research into "smart wheelchairs", which assist users to drive safely and create opportunities for them to use alternative interfaces. Various "shared control" techniques have been proposed to provide an appropriate level of assistance that is satisfactory and acceptable to the user.