Wireless Control of Powered Wheelchairs with Tongue Motion Using Hall Effect Sensors

We introduce a new system for the physically challenged, an automatic wheelchair that can be controlled by the relative tongue movement of the patient. An automatic wheelchair has been undoubtedly one of the most useful inventions ever made in history. Even though wheelchairs are considered very useful for the quadriplegics, they still find it difficult to maneuver it without the help of someone else. They always need someone to push the chair on uphill roads and other difficult places. So, an automatic wheelchair came as a boon to them and has been the favorite among them for long time now. The biggest advantage of automatic wheelchair is that they give the physically challenged person a sense of freedom and comfort like he has never felt before. Particularly elders find it very easier to move across and do things on their own. We use Hall Effect sensors to detect the position of the tongue. This intelligent wheelchair is a microcontroller based system, the movement of wheelchair is controlled by the MCU through proper DC motor driving mechanisms which are used to control the rotation of the DC geared motors which are connected to the tires of the chair. Obstacle sensors are also attached to the wheelchair.