Design and development of a motorized aircraft seat to substitute aisle wheelchairs

Purpose: The solution described in this paper allows wheelchair users with reduced mobility or physical disabilities to move independently throughout an aircraft and to board and disembark autonomously. Materials and methods: A motorized aircraft seat was developed to substitute current aircraft aisle wheelchairs. The real-scale functional prototype was evaluated in a focus group. The results show that the proposed solution is considered superior to current solutions in nine of twenty requirements and neutral in one of them. There was low agreement among the focus group participants in ten requirements, even though the focus group discussion brought interesting reflections, including positive feedback, critics, and suggestions for further research and development in the field. Results: The design concept consists of a motorized wheelchair that becomes the seat of the aircraft when anchored on a docking platform attached to the aircraft fuselage via a seat track. The manoeuvring is allowed by a rotating mechanism, which solves a critical function that is to enable wheelchair manoeuvring in the narrow aisles of aircraft. A parking assistant system aids the control of the motorized wheelchair. Conclusions: The main benefits of this solution are to reduce seat transfers during the flight experience and to provide more autonomy and comfort for passengers during flights.