Improving the quality of life for the elderly and disabled people andgiving them the proper care at the right time is one the most important rolesthat are to be performed by us being a responsible member of the society. It’s noteasy for the disabled and elderly people to mobile a mechanical wheelchair,which many of them normally use for locomotion or movements.
Hence there is aneed for designing a wheelchair that provides easy mobility. In this thesis, anattempt has been made to propose a brain controlled wheelchair, which uses thecaptured signals from the brain and processes it to control the wheelchair. Electroencephalography(EEG) technique deploys an electrode cap that is placed on the user’s scalp forthe acquisition of the EEG signals which are captured and translated intomovement commands by the arduino microcontroller which in turn move thewheelchair. After measuring brain waves it delivers to brainto computer interface unit which analyzed and amplified and classify waves intoalpha, beta, gamma, waves then arduino microcontroller controls the speed of thewheelchair and the accelerometer provides direction to the wheelchair. The electric-powered wheelchair is a wheelchairacting by an electric motor controlled with a hand-operated joystick.
However,some people suffering from severe motor disabilities cannot use the joystick,such as paralysis and physically disable people and locked-in syndrome. So theyhave other special devices available (touchpad, head /speech control, eye, EEG,etc). With the objective of responding to numerous mobility problems, variousintelligent wheelchair related research have been created in the last years. Inthis research try not only to give mobility to handicapped people but, moreimportantly, independently of third party help.
Despite these new types ofcontrol methods, can acquire users intention to control the wheelchair.However, each type of alternative control has its limitations. Wheelchair users are among the most visiblemembers of the disability community; they experience a very high level ofactivity and functional limitation and also have less of employmentopportunities. Elderly people are the group with the highest rates of bothmanual and electric wheelchair use.
Wheelchair users report difficulty in basic lifeactivities, and perceived disability. It’s not easy for the physicallychallenged and elderly people to move a mechanical or electric wheelchair. Inrecent times there have been a wide range of technologies that help aid thedisabled physically challenged. These control systems are designed to help thephysically challenged specifically. These competitive systems are replacing theconventional manual assistance systems. The wheelchair too has developedsignificantly with a variety of guidance systems alongside like using thejoystick and a touch screen, and systems based on voice recognition. Thesesystems however are of use to those with a certain amount of upper bodymobility. Those suffering from a greater degree of paralysis may not be able touse these systems since they require accurate control.
To help improve thelifestyle of the physically challenged further, this research work aims atdeveloping a wheelchair system that moves in accordance with the signalsobtained from the neurons in the brain through the electroencephalograph(EEG)electrode.EEG stands for electroencephalogram, a electrode commonly used todetect electrical activity in the brain. Detecting, recording, and interpreting”brain waves” began in the late 1800s with the discovery and exploration ofelectrical patterns in the brains and the technology has evolved to enableapplications ranging fromthe medical detection of neurological disorders to playing games controlledentirely by the mind. Brainwaves are produced bysynchronized electrical pulses from masses of neurons communicating with eachother. Brainwaves are detected using sensors (EEG electrode) placed on thescalp. They are divided into bandwidths to describe their functions, but arebest thought of as a continuous spectrum of consciousness; from slow, loud andfunctional – to fast, subtle, and complex. Our brainwaves change according towhat we are doing and feeling. When slower brainwaves are dominant we can feeltired, slow, or dreamy.
The higher frequencies are dominant when we feel activeor hyper-alert. Brainwaves are complex reflect different aspects when theyoccur in different locations in the brain. Brainwave speed is measured in Hertz(cycles per second) and they are divided into bands of slow, moderate, and fastwaves. Infra low (<0.5HZ) Delta Waves(0.
5 to 3HZ). Theta Waves(3 to 8HZ). Alpha Waves(8 to 12HZ). Beta Waves (12to 38 HZ).
Gamma Waves(38 to 42HZ). IV.METHODOLOGYFigure no. 4.
1Block DiagramA. Electric Wheelchairs Stop AccidentalRollingOnce a manual wheelchair gets rolling,it can be hard to stop. Whether it’s on a ramp or in San Francisco, a manualwheelchair can be prevented from rolling if you put the brakes on but are muchharder to stop once they get rolling.Electric wheelchairs, on the otherhand, can be slowed down and stopped with just the movement of theaccelerometer. The power that makes it go is also an excellent way of making itstop.
They’re sturdier Weight can be one ofthe most daunting aspects of power wheelchairs, especially if you plan to takeit anywhere. But that weight can also be a positive. Because the centre ofgravity is lower with electric wheelchairs, they’re much more difficult to tipover. This means that they’re more solid when it comes to front-to-back tippingand side-to-side tipping. Weight has its advantages.
If you’re at a park and in a manualwheelchair, you or the person pushing you has to take into account the tripback to the starting point. A person who has lot energy at the start can getvery tired moving a wheelchair around before too long. That means an exhaustingtrip back.The most obvious reason that electricwheelchairs beat manual ones is that they do all the work it takes to getsomeone from place to place.
While many people could get themselves around witha manual wheelchair, there are some hills and inclines that are hard for justabout everyone.Of course, there are quite a few peoplewho simply don’t have the arm strength or ability to use their hands that ittakes to work a manual wheelchair. Without a motorized wheelchair, they wouldalways require someone to move them around, while an electric wheelchair givesthem freedom that wheelchair-bound people from 30 years ago couldn’texperience. The paper is an essential need for disabled person to removeassistance.
The paper implements a robot whose speed is controlled by theconcentration level and the directions are given by a accelerometer basicallyit is a need of a disabled person to move around different places. This robot also avoid accidents in panicsituations due to the use ofconcentration level as in panic situation the concentration level drops down tozero so is the speed of the motor drops down zero. This will help the person to independentlymove around without having a help or assistance of any different individual.
We performed a survey to obtain the concentration levels of handicappeople and normal people, in order to determine the threshold value of the concentration that will in turn help to providethe variation in the speed of the motorsAs we move further with the survey it has beingdetermined that the concentration level of a handicapped person is 60-75%whereas for a normal person the concentration level varies between 70-85%. Figure no. 5.1 Results of the survey carried out for theconcentration levels Table no.
5.2Results of the survey carried out for theconcentration levels In this paper we have described our application and designed awheelchair which is fully automated and controlled using Beta wave (human brainattention) of Mind wave sensor which is detected from brain signal. It usesArduino to control wheelchair.
The mind-wave mobile provides the data dependingon the concentration level which in turn determines the speed of the wheelchairand accelerometer is used to provide direction to the wheelchair. Theexperimental results were very encouraging, which also demonstrated differentconcentration level of individuals which is used is controlling speed.
