{"id":664172,"date":"2025-04-21T15:51:53","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T12:51:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/merging-autonomy-with-manual-control-for-wheelchair-users\/"},"modified":"2025-04-21T15:51:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T12:51:53","slug":"merging-autonomy-with-manual-control-for-wheelchair-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/merging-autonomy-with-manual-control-for-wheelchair-users\/","title":{"rendered":"Merging autonomy with manual control for wheelchair users"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n The CoNav autonomous wheelchair developed by U-M engineers gives users the option of taking control. Credit: Vineet Kamat, Carol Menassa
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Autonomous technologies promise passengers travel<\/a> without concern\u2014the ability to get from Point A to Point B without needing to be engaged in the process. Yet passengers still don’t trust computers the way they trust human drivers, and most autonomous vehicles on the road today are equipped for a human to take over.<\/p>\n

The same technologies that allow autonomous vehicles (AVs) to navigate city streets can also give motorized wheelchair users the ability to get from place to place without personally controlling the chair, but wheelchair users also want a way to override the computer. Engineers at the University of Michigan aim to provide that functionality.<\/p>\n

Most wheelchairs available to those needing regular transportation are either fully manual, or fully autonomous\u2014with few options in between. The research team is harnessing the light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors and an onboard camera to allow people with disabilities the combination of freedom to let the software drive and oversight when the user is less trusting of autonomous decisions.<\/p>\n

“The sweet spot is something we call ‘shared control’ or ‘shared autonomy,’ where the robot is assisting you to the extent you want, but it is not ever putting the passenger in a situation where they cannot control their destiny,” said Vineet Kamat, the U-M John L. Tishman Family Professor of Construction Management and Sustainability and a professor of civil and environmental engineering.<\/p>\n

“People with physical disabilities primarily want to maintain their independence but have significant navigation and maneuvering challenges operating in the built environment.”<\/p>\n

In many instances, the prospect of having to steer through a complex or crowded pathway may discourage people with disabilities from partaking in social<\/a>, business or educational opportunities. In the U.S., roughly 2.7 million per year experience health issues that require the use of a wheelchair.<\/p>\n

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