CoMoveIT, a spin-off of the KU Leuven Campus Bruges, has developed a smart wheelchair that uses sensors and artificial intelligence. The wheelchair is specifically intended for persons who have difficulty using the joystick on power wheelchairs.
‘This concerns, for example, wheelchair users with cerebral palsy. They are in a lock-in: they are, as it were, trapped in their own bodies’, says Professor Elegast Monbaliu of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences (KU Leuven). “Their intellectual capabilities are still fine, but severe motor problems limit their options, preventing them from operating a traditional electric wheelchair. Our wheelchair control system changes that.’
Fully autonomous
That operating system was named CoMoveIT Smart and works with a head-foot control system with sensors. They capture the pressure that is given via the head or feet, so that the person in question can give gas. Moving left and right is done via the sensors on the feet. Some assistance is often needed to put the user in his or her chair, but from that moment on, he or she can control the wheelchair completely autonomously.
In addition, CoMoveIT Smart uses AI to recognize and compensate for involuntary movements of the user. “It allows people to move more smoothly and gradually, compared to the previously shocking way they are progressing now,” says Monbaliu. ‘Thanks to this smart wheelchair, we can therefore give this group of users more autonomy, participation and quality of life.’
For the sale, CoMoveIT will work together with specialized wheelchair consultants.
‘This concerns, for example, wheelchair users with cerebral palsy. They are in a lock-in: they are, as it were, trapped in their own bodies’, says Professor Elegast Monbaliu of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences (KU Leuven). “Their intellectual capabilities are still fine, but severe motor problems limit their options, preventing them from operating a traditional electric wheelchair. Our wheelchair control system changes that.’ That control system was named CoMoveIT Smart and works with a head-foot control system with sensors. They capture the pressure that is given via the head or feet, so that the person in question can give gas. Moving left and right is done via the sensors on the feet. Some assistance is often needed to put the user in his or her seat, but from that moment on, they can control the wheelchair completely autonomously. In addition, CoMoveIT Smart uses AI to recognize and compensate for involuntary movements of the user. “It allows people to move more smoothly and gradually, compared to the previously shocking way they are progressing now,” says Monbaliu. ‘Thanks to this smart wheelchair, we can therefore give this group of users more autonomy, participation and quality of life.’ For the sale, CoMoveIT will work together with specialized wheelchair advisors.
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