Towards the Adaptation of a Robotic Wheelchair for Cognitive Disabled Children

In this paper, we describe the adaptation of an autonomous robotic wheelchair for cognitive disabled children. The constraints imposed by these users require developing specific human-machine interfaces adapted to their limitations. In most cases it is necessary to develop additional tools to teach the children the spatial relations between the wheelchair, its motion and the environment. In addition to this, it is important to interact closely with the children and their educators. The paper describes the whole process followed to make the children use the autonomous wheelchair and the lessons learnt during the validation phase with the wheelchair and the children