Integrated Synchronized Motion Control for a Force Sensorless Power-Assisted Wheelchair

A power-assisted wheelchair driven by dual electric-motors is required to operate on rough roads properly, where the right and left wheels encounter disturbances independently. This paper presents a synchronized motion control scheme which integrates the force sensorless controller such that the movement of the power-assisted wheelchair can maintain a desired motion path on rough surfaces. The dynamic behavior of a dual-drive power wheelchair is employed to analyze its synchronized motion error, and a torque observer is adopted to develop a force sensorless control system. Experiments are given to verify the control performance of the synchronized motion control of the proposed power-assisted control system. 