Wireless Motion Control of an Intelligent Wheelchair Using Hand Gesture Recognition Technology

Abstract

A ‘hand gesture’ based easy to operate navigation mechanism using the wireless technology in the form of wheelchair control system is presented in this work. This work proposes an integrated approach for detection, tracking and recognition of hand gestures in real time. The approach uses acceleration technology to establish a reliable medium of human-machine interaction for the movement control of an intelligent wheelchair. The remote control facility up to 60 meters and obstacle avoidance technology provided for additional comfort during navigation task for elderly or disabled people.  The wheelchair motion is controlled by employing Arduino microcontroller interfaces with MEMS accelerometer sensor, motor driver unit, proximity and edge detection sensors.  The designed system was tested with five experiments consisting of 50 trials each by two participants independently. An average accuracy of 98 to 99% was found for all modules. Overall system performed well and result shows encouraging outcomes.