Abstract
Electric wheelchairs have been widely used by the elderly and care recipients. Since the wheelchairs require hand-operation, it have two problems. First, drivers cannot deal other tasks requiring their hands. Another is it cannot be used by persons disabled in hands. Additionally, it is preferable driver's hands is free for safety. In this study, an inverted pendulum type wheelchair is developed that enables turning based on sensing air pressure of the cushion, and back and forth movements by the motion of the body without the hand-operation. A back and forth movements and rotational control systems for the wheelchair are designed using a disturbance observer.
