A new mobility interface for the elderly to expand their scope of activities—The SLIDE FLEX

Assistive technologies, especially mobility devices, have had a profound impact on the daily activities and social participation not only of healthy elderly persons, but also of elderly care-receivers. To this end, the authors have developed a new mobility interface, the SLIDE FLEX, which extends the mobility activities of users by maintaining body function by using upper limb motions. We designed and developed a new operation system, a touch slide sensor. The concept of the new system is to use separate arm support to measure the position, displacement and velocity of each arm, and to use these data as input signals to control the system. The SLIDE FLEX enables the user to propel herself/himself naturally while motors assist her/his propulsion speed. The main components are a touch slide with a capacitance slider sensor, a control system, and a powered wheelchair. Sensors in the arm support detect positional information, which is calculated as three types of control input: position, displacement, and propulsion velocity. These input signals for each arm are recognized as indications of the user´s intention to change direction and are used to turn the vehicle. Preliminary evaluations indicate that this new system is both safe and useful.