Evaluation of an eye-movement controlled wheelchair- a preliminary report

Abstract

A motorised wheelchair controlled by the user’s eye movements was evaluated regarding its practicability for extensively paralysed individuals. The observed merits of the wheelchair included the unobtrusiveness of the Sight Switches and the rapidity with which individuals learned to control it with reasonable facility. Liabilities included the sensitivity of the control system to changes in the level of ambient iUumination, occasional spontaneous changes in the state of the logic circuits and lack of a control capability that would enable the occupant to stop the chair in case the normal controls malfunction. It was concluded that until these deficiencies are overcome, this wheelchair guidance system cannot be recommended for patients’ use. © 1973 Nature Publishing Group.