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A compact stair-climbing wheelchair with two 3-DOF legs and a 1-DOF base

Chang-Hyuk Lee (Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Suwon-si, Republic of Korea)
Kyung-min Lee (Korean Intellectual Property Office, Daejeon, Republic of Korea)
Jehong Yoo (Advanced Institutes of Convergence Technology, Seoul National University, Republic of Korea)
In-su Kim (Hyundai-Kia R&D Center, Hyundai Motor Company, Republic of Korea)
Young-bong Bang (Advanced Institutes of Convergence Technology, Seoul National University, Suwon–si, Republic of Korea)

Industrial Robot

ISSN: 0143-991x

Article publication date: 21 March 2016

696

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a compact wheelchair, which has two 3-degrees of freedom (DOF) legs and a 1-DOF base (the total DOF of the leg system is 7) for stair-climbing, and wheels for flat surface driving.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed wheelchair climbs stairs using the two 3-DOF legs with boomerang-shaped feet. The leg mechanisms are folded into the compact wheelchair body when the wheelchair moves over flat surfaces. The authors also propose a simple estimation method of stair shape using laser distance sensors, and a dual motor driving system to increase joint power.

Findings

The proposed wheelchair can climb arbitrary height and width stairs by itself, even when they are slightly curved. During climbing, the trajectory of the seat position is linear to guarantee the comfort of rider, and the wheelchair always keeps a stable condition to ensure the stability in an emergency stop.

Originality/value

The wheelchair mechanism with foldable legs and driving wheels enables smooth stair climbing, efficient flat surface driving and additional useful motions such as standing and tilting.

Keywords

Citation

Lee, C.-H., Lee, K.-m., Yoo, J., Kim, I.-s. and Bang, Y.-b. (2016), "A compact stair-climbing wheelchair with two 3-DOF legs and a 1-DOF base", Industrial Robot, Vol. 43 No. 2, pp. 181-192. https://doi.org/10.1108/IR-05-2015-0085

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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