Discussion of Intelligent Electric Wheelchairs for Caregivers and Care Recipients
This addresses physical and psychological challenges for caregivers and older adults in caregiving settings, though it appears incremental as it builds on existing wheelchair technology with added cooperative features.
The researchers developed an intelligent electric wheelchair to reduce caregiver burden by identifying problems through workshops with caregivers and older adults, and implemented a cooperative operation function for multiple wheelchairs demonstrated at a nursing home.
In order to reduce the burden on caregivers, we developed an intelligent electric wheelchair. We held workshops with caregivers, asked then regarding the problems in caregiving, and developed problem-solving methods. In the workshop, caregivers' physical fitness and psychology of the older adults were found to be problems and a solution was proposed. We implemented a cooperative operation function for multiple electric wheelchairs based on the workshop and demonstrated it at a nursing home. By listening to older adults, we obtained feedback on the automatic driving electric wheelchair. From the results of this study, we discovered the issues and solutions to be applied to the intelligent electric wheelchair.