Multifunctional and autonomous, high performance architecture: applicationto a wheelchair for disabled people that integrates different control and guidance strategies

This article describes a DSP-based electronic board, designed for use in ap plications requiring high performance, in terms of processing times, ease o f interface with other systems and flexibility. The board has been designed especially to be used on a wheelchair for disabled people that includes di fferent guidance strategies and safety sensors. An architecture joining the fundamental characteristics of high speed and flexibility is needed due to the following factors: the complexity and variety of the wheelchair's guid ance modes, the need for processing a large amount of information in real-t ime, and adapting the system to the user's needs. The functions that the bo ard needs to be able to carry out include the following: position and speed control, processing of information coming from ultrasonic and infrared sen sors, path planning and control interfaces with the user. Communication bet ween the several blocks of the wheelchair is performed using the serial pro tocol of the Echelon bus. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserve d.