Author: Nico SteynPublisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 286
Book Description
This research concerns the development of a virtual reality platform for a differential drive mobility aid in manual or electric wheelchairs with multipurpose usage in an enabled environment. The platform for the mobility aid is stationary, with pitch and roll actuated actions for possible different uses such as: manual or electric wheelchair driving simulations, wheelchair training, assistive technology research, architectural route planning and accessibility evaluation. By means of the platform, the differential drive mobility aid, is greatly able to assist inexperienced users in this method of mobility training. The use of the developed mobility simulation platform is additionally of benefit to disabled wheeled mobility users in need of occupational therapist training and evaluation. The investigation into the mobility factor will moreover be of further benefit in the area of the ergonomic designs of architectural structures for wheelchair-bound users. The platform is a mechatronic design with both mechanical and electrical properties. The mechanical components consist of drums, driven by the wheelchair and its user when placed on the platform, where acquired data of the rotation of the wheelchair's wheels are of importance. The platform is connected to actuators for simulating angular movements of the wheelchair approaching an inclining or declining given path. The simulator necessarily maps intended motion by an electric wheelchair user into the virtual world, taking into consideration influences such as collisions, gradient changes and different surface properties. Audio, motion and force feedback produced on the virtual mobility simulator give the users a sensory stimulus input with regard to sound, movement and balance. Ultimately, the design forms a unity, comprising a mechanical platform, the wheelchair and the enabled user, with the relevant kinematics and dynamics controlled in a simulated virtual reality environment.
