Evaluation of wheelchair Rolling Resistance using a robotic device

This paper describes the development of a control system for a robotic wheelchair propulsion device, and its use to evaluate the dynamic behavior of a wheelchair-passenger system, in particular the effect of Rolling Resistance in a straight path during acceleration and deceleration phases. Instead of using human passengers as test subjects, a robotic propulsion system is employed to propel the wheelchair in a highly repeatable manner, providing a controlled input torque. It is found that rolling resistance is significantly dependent on the acceleration of the wheelchair, and that the conventional models in which rolling resistance is represented as a Coulomb-type force, are insufficient to describe the dynamic behavior of the wheelchair during acceleration and deceleration.