Analysis of position and isometric joysticks for powered wheelchair driving

Author

Cooper, Rory A. ; Jones, Daniel K. ; Fitzgerald, Shirley ; Boninger, Michael L. ; Albright, Steven J.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Rehabilitation Sci. & Technol, Pittsburgh Univ., PA, USA

Volume

47

Issue

7

fYear

2000

fDate

7/1/2000 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

902

Lastpage

910

Abstract

The control interface is one of the most critical components of the electric-powered wheelchair (EPW). The control interface must accommodate the user´s limitations and maximize the user´s abilities. This study extended Fitts´ Law for target-acquisition to a continuously updated target. The extended Fitts´ Law was used to examine EPW driving with a standard position sensing joystick and a prototype isometric joystick (IJ). The extended Fitts´ Law provides insight into the difficulty of performing target-acquisition tasks with an EPW. The test results showed significant differences (p<0.05) among the two types of joysticks for selected measures of information processing capacity, movement time, root-mean-square-error, and average velocity while performing turning maneuvers. The mean values indicate that the IJ may provide superior turning performance.

Keywords

biocontrol; handicapped aids; interactive devices; Fitts´ Law; average velocity; continuously updated target; control interface; electric-powered wheelchair; information processing capacity; isometric joysticks; movement time; powered wheelchair driving; root-mean-square-error; target-acquisition; target-acquisition tasks; turning maneuvers; turning performance; Biomedical engineering; Ergonomics; Information processing; Laboratories; Mechanical engineering; Medical services; Prototypes; Target tracking; Turning; Wheelchairs; Algorithms; Biomedical Engineering; Electricity; Equipment Design; Humans; Wheelchairs;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Biomedical Engineering, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9294

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/10.846684

Filename

846684