2021 · Mechanical engineering · Embedded systems · Assistive technology · Diploma project · Panimalar Polytechnic College
Gesture-Controlled Wheelchair for Paralyzed People
A Diploma engineering project exploring a low-cost gesture-controlled wheelchair prototype using MEMS sensing, Arduino microcontrollers, RF wireless communication, relay control and DC motors.
- Arduino
- RF
- MEMS sensor
- Relays
- DC motors
- Embedded C
Headline
7 stages
From gesture to wheel: MEMS → Nano → RF → Uno → relays → motors
On this page
Quick facts
- Diploma project · 2021
- Arduino
- RF
- MEMS
- DC motor
- Embedded C
- Project
- Gesture-controlled wheelchair
- Type
- Diploma project (team of six)
- Date
- April 2021
- Institution
- Panimalar Polytechnic College, Chennai
- Guide
- Mr. N. Vijayasharathi, M.E.
- Domain
- Assistive technology
- Control
- Gesture (MEMS sensor) + RF link
- Controllers
- Arduino Nano (user side), Arduino Uno (wheelchair side)
- Actuation
- Two DC motors
- Switching
- Four relays
- Programming
- Arduino IDE, Embedded C
01 · Problem
Problem
Smart wheelchairs on the market are powered by high-capacity batteries and high-torque motors, so they cost more than many people can afford, and they are normally driven with a joystick or toggle switch. The report notes that a person who is severely disabled (it cites 90 to 95 per cent) cannot operate such a chair and needs an attendant. The team set out to build a low-cost prototype with an easier control mechanism, using a MEMS sensor and RF wireless communication.
02 · Approach
Approach
System design
Two halves. On the user side, a MEMS sensor feeds an Arduino Nano, which sends the command through an RF transmitter. On the wheelchair side, an RF receiver passes the command to an Arduino Uno, which drives relays connected to two DC motors. Each half has its own power supply.
Method
The report reviews earlier smart-wheelchair work (steering mechanisms, simulators, voice and hand-glove controllers), describes the existing joystick-driven systems and their cost, and proposes an RF-controlled design built on Arduino with a four-channel relay driven by a ULN2003 driver. The software is written in the Arduino IDE in Embedded C.
Key concept
From a physical system to a control chain
Gesture, sensor, microcontroller, radio link, second microcontroller, relays, motors: each stage hands a simple signal to the next. Seeing a machine as a chain of stages is the habit that carried over into data and machine-learning pipelines.
Figure
How it fits together
Input
Processing
Communication
Communication
Control
Control
Actuation
01 · MEMS sensor
Captures the user's gesture or movement and provides the control signal for the wheelchair.
Input → processing → communication → control → actuation
03 · Results
Results
The report concludes that the prototype of the smart wheelchair was designed successfully, with its motion controlled by gesture movement through a MEMS sensor and RF. It records no test measurements, so no performance figures are claimed here.
04 · Limitations
Limitations
What it does not show
The report says that some difficulties came up, that a lot of remodelling was needed, and that the chair had limitations the team learned about while building it. It does not list them or report any testing, and the build itself is not photographed in it. The prototype has no clinical testing, no safety certification and no real-world trial. It was an academic prototype, not a medical device.
Lessons
Integrating mechanical fabrication with electronics, embedded programming, wireless communication and motor control, and learning that a design has to be reworked more than once before the parts behave as one system.
System architecture
Seven stages, from gesture to wheel
01
MEMS sensor
Captures the user's gesture or movement and provides the control signal for the wheelchair.
02
Arduino Nano
Reads the sensor input and prepares the matching wireless control command.
03
RF transmitter
Sends the movement command wirelessly from the user-side controller.
04
RF receiver
Receives the wireless command at the wheelchair-side controller.
05
Arduino Uno
Processes the received command and decides which relays to switch.
06
Relay board
Switches between the Arduino's control signals and the DC motors. The block diagram shows four relays.
07
DC motors
Turn the electrical control signals into mechanical movement. The block diagram shows two motors.
Block diagram
The system as drawn in the report
One power supply feeds the Arduino that sits behind the RF receiver and four relays; a second feeds the Arduino Nano with its RF transmitter and MEMS sensor.
Hardware
What it was built from
- Power supply
- Arduino Uno
- Arduino Nano
- RF transmitter
- RF receiver
- Relay board
- DC motors
- MEMS sensor
Software
How it was programmed
- Arduino IDE
- Embedded C
- Arduino Uno
- Arduino Nano
The report names the Arduino IDE and Embedded C. It does not include the source code, so none is shown here.
Team and supervision
A team project: six Diploma students at Panimalar Polytechnic College, in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, guided by Mr. N. Vijayasharathi, M.E.. Manuel Augustine Faria was one of the six.
This project was developed as an academic prototype and was not intended or certified for clinical or real-world medical use.
Full documentation
Read the original report
The page above is a short summary. The complete report covers the literature survey, existing and proposed systems, the block diagram, the hardware descriptions and the software.