Design of Brain controlled electric Wheel Chair for Paraplegic Persons

Many people are born with disabilities that restrict their movement. For a quadriplegic person, mobility is a big challenge. Ordinary Wheelchair can be used for mobility but it requires a caretaker who can move the user around. Quadriplegic persons cannot move their body and they always need as

Project Title

Design of Brain controlled electric Wheel Chair for Paraplegic Persons

Project Area of Specialization

NeuroTech

Project Summary

Many people are born with disabilities that restrict their movement. For a quadriplegic person, mobility is a big challenge. Ordinary Wheelchair can be used for mobility but it requires a caretaker who can move the user around. Quadriplegic persons cannot move their body and they always need assistance. Quadriplegic patients are unable to move their body below their necks. Their mobility depends on others.  Multiple solutions and technologies have been developed in the past that provide mobility solutions but a quadriplegic person will have difficulties in operating a voice controlled, a joystick or an electromyograph controlled wheelchair, therefore to overcome these limitations and difficulties we are designing an electric wheelchair that can be controlled by an EEG-based headset. This device will assist the quadriplegic patients to move freely using their brain signals. The movement of the wheelchair is controlled by the brain signals variation in the patient’s brain

Project Objectives

This project aims to design and implement a brain controlled electric wheel chair for quadriplegic patients. In this project, we will acquire the brain signals, i.e., Electroencephalogram (EEG) signal by using the brainwave headset, using the acquired signals we will control the movement of wheelchair. The wheelchair will be able to move in four directions, i.e., forward, back, right and left. We will take signals from the brain through an EEG sensor and use it as an input in micro-controller to control the motion of wheels. The microcontroller will convert the signals into electrical output that will drive the motors accordingly .

Project Implementation Method

This project will be implemented by interfacing an arduino microcontroller to two independent motors that will move the wheelchair forward, backward, left and right.

Each thought or action generates a unique brain signal. EEG signals acquired from scalp have different amplitude and frequency. They are divided into different EEG bands on basis of amplitude and frequency. The brainwave headset detects three brain signals: concentration, indication of meditation and eye blink signals. The motor of the wheelchair is activated when the user’s brain activity reaches a certain threshold point. The forward and backward movements are controlled by brain signals. User must perform a blink sequence to specify the direction of movement of the wheelchair. Intensities of concentration and meditation are measured and packets of bytes are sent to the microcontroller. The Arduino communicates to the motor drivers and drives the motors. Brain signals and the frequency of eye blinks are translated into movement commands . Arduino is programmed to move servo motors and regulate their speed. The Headset is connected to microcontroller via Bluetooth device and the data transmits directly from headset to microcontroller. HC-05 Bluetooth module is used to interface to Arduino microcontroller.

Benefits of the Project

The quadriplegic person will be able to move without any external assistance and dependence on anyone. The brain signals will be able to control the wheelchair completely and give full control of the wheelchair to the user. The brain-controlled wheelchairs are able to respond to commands much faster and patients who have lost the ability to speak and move can easily utilize them. It has the potential to improve the life of people suffering from motor disabilities.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The final deliverable of the brain control wheelchair consists of a complete wheelchair equipped with two gear motors, a motor driver , a control circuit, a 12 V battery, and an Arduino micro controller. The motors drive the wheels by a set of chain sprockets. The wheelchair is fully functional using a brain headset. Some modifications will be done to optimize the performance of the wheelchair. Some extra features can be added to improve the functionality and practicality of the wheelchair. Obstacle detection using an ultrasonic sensor and a patient health monitoring system can probably be added.

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Health

Other Industries

Core Technology

NeuroTech

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Good Health and Well-Being for People

Required Resources

If you need this project, please contact me on contact@adikhanofficial.com