Design and Discussion on A Novel Intelligent Wheelchair Bed

Aiming at the elderly and the physically disabled, this paper designs a novel Intelligent Wheelchair Bed( IWB) to solve the physical problems ( moving/living/etc.) in their daily life. Firstly, the proposal of IWB is presented by comparing similar existing technologies and products based on current application status. Focusing on creative features of IWB, this paper analyzes some design issues of main functional modules ( deformation mechanism, suspension and omni-direction-wheel mechanism, and safety system, etc.). Some key algorithms are also discussed such as interaction control between human and machine, autonomous docking and motion compensation. In the later part of this paper, implementation and tests of the prototype are demonstrated. By these efforts, the authors believe that technologies packaged in IWB will form a new useful robotic product and make contributions to the upcoming aging society.