Network enabled powered wheelchair adapter kit (NEPWAK)

Due to the aging population of many developed countries, the call for accommodation for the handicapped, and the elderly, are being addressed on political, industrial and scientific fronts. We believe that, in the near future, rehabilitation robots will become a significant component of health service systems in the world. Rehabilitation robotics involving the use of powered wheelchairs as mobility platforms has taken place in many research groups with various goals. We have taken one such initiative; we have sought to develop a kit that can be retrofitted to any commercial powered wheelchair augmenting it with remote health care and control. We call this system "NEPWAK - the Network Enabled Powered Wheelchair Adapter Kit". NEPWAK will provide mobility and remote health care to individuals who otherwise could not use a standard wheelchair independently due to motor, sensory, perceptual, or cognitive impairments. To ease the task of remote operators in transporting patients, NEPWAK incorporates human tracking and following capabilities, and an obstacle avoidance system.