As part of the project, researchers developed two prototypes and two simulators, and various subsystems, originating three PhD theses, eight master’s degree theses and over 40 scientific papers published in international journals and conferences.

Voice controls, facial expressions, head movements, a joystick, and a simple blink of an eye are the different controls allowed by the intelligent wheelchair,  all thanks to the “multimodal interface that makes it possible to connect, in real time, multiple input systems that can be freely combined by the user,” according to the project’s description.

The IntellWheels is a software and hardware kit that is programmed according to the motor and communicative limitations of the user, adapting itself and operating in a personalised way.
This equipment, which can also navigate and avoid obstacles, makes it possible to turn commercial wheelchairs into intelligent wheelchairs with reduced costs and low ergonomic impact.

Other than IntellWheels – Intelligent Wheelchair with a Flexible Multimodal Interface, the researchers involved have already developed a realistic simulator and a classification system for users to be able to use the chair and to be trained. The clients of the Cerebral Palsy Association in Porto have already used and validated the system.

The final prototype of the Intellwheels chair is now ready and waiting for investors interested in commercialising this innovative, low-cost product made in Portugal.

The IntellWheels project was developed by the Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Laboratory (LIACC), together with INESC TEC and various other institutions: Institute of Electronics and Telematics Engineering of Aveiro (IEETA), the Universities of Porto, Aveiro and Minho, the Health School of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto, and it was financed by the Portuguese funding agency, the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).

Plural & Singular, March 2014