Prototype of the electric wheelchair for children with disabilities in motor function extending the relation with environment and persons

-Implementation of switching mechanism for middle-wheel drive and front-wheel drive-

Abstract

Children with disabilities in motor function are difficult to move independently. Therefore, because it is difficult to act on the surrounding environment, learning opportunities such as exercise, cognition, and emotion are restricted. Our research group has developed mobile support equipment that enables early mobility experiences of children with disabilities in motor function. When traveling indoors and outdoors, there are problems with the size of the turning radius and rough road running. Therefore, in this research, by switching the drive mode of the wheelchair between the two drive modes of the middle-wheel drive mode and the front-wheel drive one, safe runs with user-friendliness are realized in both environments.