Autonomous Control and Simulation of a Wheelchair Mounted Robotic Arm Performing Activities of Daily Living Tasks

A wheelchair-mounted robotic arm was designed and developed to enhance the capabilities of mobility-impaired persons with limited upper extremities limitations exceeding previous models specifications and performance [1]. The major enhancements of the wheelchair’s mechanical design are the incorporation of DC servo drive with encoders at each individual joint. The arm has seven degrees of freedom (DoF) and is side-mounted on a power wheelchair (fig 1). The control system allows coordinated Cartesian control, and offers expandability for research in combined mobility and manipulation. This paper discusses the control scheme and a virtual simulation of the existing WMRA prototype performing several activities of daily living.