An Approach on Velocity and Stability Control of a Two-Wheeled Robotic Wheelchair

Conventional robotic wheelchairs (three or four-wheeled) which are statically stable are poor in mobility. Though a two-wheeled robotic wheelchair has better mobility, it is not statically stable and needs an active stability controller. In addition to mobility and stability, velocity control is also important for the operation of a wheelchair. Conventional stability and velocity controllers rely on the motion of the wheels and require high driving torque and power. In this paper, this problem is tackled by adding a compact pendulum-like movable mechanism whose main function is for stability control. Its motion and those of the wheels are controlled through a quasi-sliding mode control approach to achieve a simultaneous velocity and stability control with much less driving torque and power. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed controller.