Driver Model of a Powered Wheelchair Operation as a Tool of Theoretical Analyses

抄録

This paper describes the construction of a driver model of a powered wheelchair operation for the understanding of the characteristics of the driver. The main targets of existing researches about driver models are the operation of the automobiles and motorcycles, not a low-speed vehicle such as powered wheelchairs. Therefore, we started by verifying the possibility of modeling the turning operation at a corner of a corridor. At first, we conducted an experiment on a daily powered wheelchair user by using his vehicle. High reproducibility of driving and the driving characteristics for the construction of a driver model were both confirmed from the result of the experiment. Next, experiments with driving simulators were conducted for the collection of quantitative driving data. The parameters of the proposed driver model were identified from experimental results. From the simulations with the proposed driver model and identified parameters, the characteristics of the proposed driver model were analyzed.