Integrated control of MANUS manipulator and wheelchair enhanced by environmental docking

Realisations and concepts are presented on the control of the MANUS wheelchair-mounted telemanipulator arm by severely disabled persons with few residual functions. Functional aspects are stressed as a basis for technical implementations, with special attention to the ergonomics of interactive control of the manipulator-wheelchair system in unstructured human environments. Adaptability of the control is accentuated, both with respect to abilities and impairments of the individual user and with respect to characteristics of the environment and the task to be executed. Some methods to improve adaptability are discussed, and the need for standard interfacing methods is underlined. Control configurations in actual daily use by persons with different severe disabilities are presented in some detail. A first implementation of integrated chin joystick control of MANUS manipulator and electric wheelchair, in daily use by a person with a C4/C5 spinal cord lesion, is reported as an example.