Electric Wheelchairs Become Communication Hubs
From: Wireless Design & Development - 06/04/2013
By: Fraunhofer

With modern communication aids, users of electric powered wheelchairs can
operate a PC and cellphone without human assistance. A new module is set to
transform electric powered wheelchairs into communication hubs.

The new aid is an add-on module that expands the functionality of electric
powered wheelchairs by connecting up the existing wheelchair control system
(e.g. joystick, chin control) to a cellphone, PC, TV, games console, etc. via
Bluetooth. The interface for data transmission is the wheelchair’s CAN bus,
where all wheelchair data converges. “The module allows users to carry out
all mouse functions – on their notebook or smartphone, say – and thereby
check their e-mails, surf the web, and send an SOS in the event of an
emergency. All USB-enabled devices are supported,” says Prof. Dr. Andreas
Wenzel, group manager for embedded systems at the AST branch in Ilmenau.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.wirelessdesignmag.com/news/2013/06/electric-wheelchairs-become-communication-hubs
http://www.fraunhofer.de/en/press/research-news/2013/june/greater-convenience-and-safety-for-wheelchair-users.html

Related:
The four-wheel drive hybrid wheelchair
http://www.gizmag.com/go/5538/