Low Cost Head Gesture Controlled Wheelchair for Quadriplegic Patients

Abstract

Quadriplegia is a paralytic condition in which the affected individuals have partial or total loss of their limb movement. This paper proposes a prototype a low cost head gesture controlled electric wheelchair which can be a cost-effective alternate to the existing models. This is achieved by enhancing the functionality of an ordinary wheelchair through image processing algorithms such as Kanade Lucas Tomasi (KLT) algorithm implemented in Raspberry pi. Raspberry pi uses ARM Cortex-A53 processor which is programmed in Python. The wheelchair moves in accordance with user commands in the form of head gestures. These commands are picked up using web camera. Basic face detection and face tracking in different directions such as straight, left and right has been achieved and deployment of the entire setup on the chassis has been completed and a prototype is developed at a cost of Rs.10000. Further, safe movement of the wheelchair may be ensured using ultrasonic sensors which detects obstacles in its path and stops the wheelchair if need arises.