Controller for Real and Simulated Wheelchair With a Multimodal Interface Using Gazebo and ROS

The evolution of intelligent wheelchairs with new systems to control them and help the user to be more independent has been remarkable in recent years. Since these systems have a significant impact on the quality of life of people with disabilities, it is crucial that it is suited for the final user and does not put his life at risk. Initially, this study proposes a 3D motorised wheelchair model with robotic tools to be used in simulation environments and helps the development and validation of new approaches. This model uses Robotic Operating System (ROS) tools to help the addition of sensors and actuators. With the ROS-Nodes, it is easy to add new features and controllers. The Gazebo framework was used to create the simulation environments. After that, following previous work, it is proposed a wheelchair controller that receives commands from a multimodal interface and can control a real and simulated wheelchair at the same time. This work studies new wheelchair models and their respective controllers in a simulated environment and gradually test in real-world to obtain the final model with low costs and minimise engineering costs.