Smart Wheelchair using Solar Panel

Manual wheelchairs have a gross loss of mechanical efficiency, and thus the risk of user fatigue and upper-limb injury is increased. Electric-powered wheelchairs reduce the risk of injury and provide a more convenient means of transportation. The Smart Wheelchair that we want to create will have sol

Project Title

Smart Wheelchair using Solar Panel

Project Area of Specialization

Electrical/Electronic Engineering

Project Summary

Manual wheelchairs have a gross loss of mechanical efficiency, and thus the risk of user fatigue and upper-limb injury is increased. Electric-powered wheelchairs reduce the risk of injury and provide a more convenient means of transportation. The Smart Wheelchair that we want to create will have solar charging, GPS tracking, Android application, obstacle avoiding, and Emergency switch. The auxiliary solar power supply increased the travel range of the wheelchair by approximately 26% compared with that of a wheelchair powered by battery alone. Moreover, the android application gives the user overall control of the motion of the wheelchair through an android app.  GPS is also installed to detect the location of the wheelchair. Obstacle avoiding is also provided in order to avoid the obstacle that the user cannot see. 

Project Objectives

These are the following objectives of our Project

• Movement controlling by microcontroller:

The motion of this smart electric wheelchair (SW) will be controlled by using a microcontroller such as Arduino Mega. We will control all the forward, reverse, right and left direction of SW by the sets of programming commands. 

•  GPS tracking system:

We will also track the wheelchair via a GPS tracking system. It will reduce the chances of theft and the guardians can see their current location.

• WAPDA + Solar charging System:

The solar charging system is introduced to charge the battery when the user is traveling outdoor. The control system will ideally give priority to the photovoltaic cell, next to the fuel cell and finally to the battery. When sufficient sunlight is available, the photovoltaic cell on the wheelchair roof is used, when it is limited, the fuel cell or the battery is used

• Obstacle avoiding:

Obstacle avoiding is provided so that whenever there will be an obstacle at any side of a wheelchair the sensor will detect the obstacle and will generate an alarm and avoid the obstacle.

• Android App interfacing:

Our objective is to control the motion of a Smart electric wheelchair by the android app. The wheelchair system is designed to control a wheelchair by using an android device. The objective of this is to facilitate the movement.

Project Implementation Method

First, of fall we read the research papers and did the market survey and took the diameter, width, and height of the wheelchair and keeping in mind the weight of a person, rolling resistance and air density we did parameter calculation such as rpm, torque, and power of the motor.

This project is divided into two parts i.e. mechanical and electrical. In the electrical part, till now we have completed our software simulation work. We have individually implemented each component like GPS, GSM, Bluetooth module and ultrasonic sensor on the Proteus Software and then tested each component individually on a breadboard. Also, we implement the solar charging on the Proteus Software and After that, we have finalized our circuit diagram and implemented it on the Proteus. Then we did the market survey and purchased the hardware equipment and finally implemented it on hardware form.

The other part is the mechanical structure of the wheelchair. In this part, we will first of fall work on the design of the smart wheelchair structure and on the solar panel adjustment that will be placed over the seat. So that during the sun hours the solar panel can adjust its angle to charge the battery. The motors will be placed beside the wheels of the wheelchair and we will then work on the wheel balancing of the wheelchair. Finally, we will develop an android app and link our micro-controller with it to control the motion of the wheelchair through the android app.  

Benefits of the Project

• Right now, Pakistan is importing Electric wheelchairs that are simply joysticks controlled from China and Japan which cost is minimum 135000 PKR 
• If Pakistan starts an industry for this project surely our economy will boost up, employment will increase, maintenance center will be made for the maintenance and repair of a Smart wheelchair.
• There are 2.5% disabled persons in Pakistan. It will be 5500000 in number. 
• These people use an imported wheelchair they will be shifted more efficient and locally manufactured wheelchair which can be maintained locally.
• There is a 3% quota in the Public sector for the disabled person and all of the required wheelchairs for transportation.
• Further, empower the disabled and elderly community. 
• Offer a wide range of the assistive function.
• Maintain ease of use and intuitiveness integral to current generation walkers.
• The empowerment of renewable energy(solar) that is much cheaper as compare to WAPDA.
• To provide easiness for the guardian to track the user or in the case of theft.
• The electric wheelchair cost is 135000 Rs in Pakistan but this Smart wheelchair with all these new features will only cost up to 71340 Rs. It will be a much cheaper product. 

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

• Arduino based microcontroller
• GPS and GSM based tracking system
• Battery charging of wheelchair through solar and WAPDA.
• Obstacle avoiding through ultrasonic sensors.
• The mechanical structure of wheelchair
• Movement control of wheelchair motor through android phone

Final Deliverable of the Project

Hardware System

Core Industry

Transportation

Other Industries

Energy , Manufacturing , Health

Core Technology

Others

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Good Health and Well-Being for People, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Responsible Consumption and Production, Life on Land

Required Resources

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