Teleoperation Training Environment for New Users of Electric Powered Wheelchairs Based on Multiple Driving Methods

Currently, diverse existing training environments help new users of electric powered wheelchairs (EPWs) learn how to drive, acquaint, and improve their abilities with these assistive devices. Several authors are developing such environments, and most of them use virtually simulated wheelchairs. Despite the similarities between virtual and real wheelchairs, it is easier to drive the real device, because representation of the wheelchair physical behavior is still a problem for virtual simulated environments. Concerning the driving methods, most of them are based on a joystick, which does not give the opportunity for users to test, practice, and acquaint themselves with new technology, such as driving through eye movements. This paper implements and tests a more realistic approach to a training environment dedicated to new users of EPW. The proposed system is based on a real EPW controlled by teleoperation, and it is flexible enough to attend to multiple driving methods. An architecture that allows a user to send command messages to control a real EPW through the Internet was implemented to test the system. The implemented driving methods used were conventional joystick, eye-tracker, and a generic human-machine interface. The experimental results suggest that new users can practice safely using a real EPW through the Internet, even in a situation with a communication delay of 130.2 ms (average). Furthermore, the proposed system have shown itself to be a potential tool for attending to new EPW users with different types of disabilities and to be a low-cost approach that could be applied in developing countries.