Development and prototyping of a stair-climbing wheelchair for lower limb disabled individuals

Abstract

 This research aims to develop a prototype of a stair-climbing wheelchair for individuals with lower limb disabilities. The research begins with designing the electric wheelchair using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) principles. This technology allows for the simulation of the wheelchair's operation on a computer and the analysis of the structural strength of the electric wheelchair to calculate its robustness. After the design has been verified, the next step involves creating and assembling the stair-climbing wheelchair prototype. The performance testing of the prototype involves testing under conditions with three weight scenarios: 133 kg, 138 kg, and 149 kg. The results indicated that the wheelchair performed well in the first two cases, ascending and descending stairs efficiently. However, in the third case, with a total weight of 149 kg, the wheelchair failed to ascend stairs due to the motor's insufficient torque capacity, triggering an overload warning. The performance testing revealed differences in the time taken for stair climbing and stair descending, with the fastest time for climbing being approximately 4.84 seconds and descending at 5.02 seconds. The analysis of the Standard Deviation (SD) showed a low value of 0.07, indicating inconsistent weight distribution during testing. The ideal SD should exceed 1 for better consistency. User satisfaction was evaluated using a 5-point Likert scale, and the results showed that the average satisfaction score of the users was very satisfactory.