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Preliminary assessment of a multimodal electric-powered wheelchair simulator for training of activities of daily living

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Abstract

Driving an Electric-powered wheelchair requires a specific set of motor, visual and cognitive skills. One of the options is the use of wheelchair simulators to train the driving of the wheelchair in a controlled and completely safe environment. However, existing simulators do not have simultaneous characteristics of being multimodal and having training scenarios of activities of daily living. These two features would be very useful for training users with different disabilities in the activities they will use in daily living, as it could be adapted to a large number of users, avoiding specific customizations for each disability. This research proposes a multimodal Electric-powered wheelchair simulator with simultaneous focus in the training of activities of daily living and adaptability. The simulator was developed using the Unity 3D tool, with three scenarios (obstacles, accessibility ramp and elevators) and three input controls: joystick, electromyography and eye tracking. A pilot test was performed with four participants with different disabilities and experience in driving electric powered wheelchairs. Participants improved both their skills in operating the wheelchair and in relation to the control used, taking less time and effort at later stages of the experiment. And they demonstrated more confidence and ability in the use of the simulator as the experiment progressed. The multimodal simulator has the potential to help individuals train and develop the motor, cognitive and visual skills necessary to drive the wheelchair correctly while providing a high degree of adaptability to the user and his or her pathologies.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

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Funding

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Assistive Technologies Group, Federal University of Uberlândia, Av Joao Naves de Avila, 2160 – Bloco 3N, Uberlandia, Brazil

    Felipe R. Martins, Eduardo L. M. Naves & Angela A. R. de Sá

  2. Laboratoire de Conception, d’Optimisation et Modélisation des Système (LCOMS), Université de Lorraine, Metz, France

    Yann Morère

Authors
  1. Felipe R. Martins
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  2. Eduardo L. M. Naves
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  3. Yann Morère
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  4. Angela A. R. de Sá
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Contributions

FRM developed the software, supervised the experiments and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. ELMN supervised, revised and gave the final approval of the manuscript. AARS and YM was involved in drafting the manuscript and revising it critically for important intellectual content and given final approval of the version to be published. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Angela A. R. de Sá.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical approval

Approved by the Ethics Committee from Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil. Prot. Number: CAAE 86694117.4.0000.5152.

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Martins, F.R., Naves, E.L.M., Morère, Y. et al. Preliminary assessment of a multimodal electric-powered wheelchair simulator for training of activities of daily living. J Multimodal User Interfaces 16, 193–205 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12193-021-00385-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12193-021-00385-9

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