User Involvement in Robotic Wheelchair Development: A Decade of Limited Progress
This identifies a systemic problem in assistive technology research that hinders real-world adoption for people with mobility impairments, though it is an incremental review rather than a novel solution.
This literature review found that over the past decade, user involvement in robotic wheelchair development has been limited, with only about 6% of studies meeting criteria for verifiable end-user participation, and most involvement occurring in late-stage evaluation rather than early design stages.
Robotic wheelchairs (RWs) offer significant potential to enhance autonomy and participation for people with mobility impairments, yet many systems have failed to achieve sustained real-world adoption. This narrative literature review examined the extent and quality of end-user involvement in RW design, development, and evaluation over the past decade (2015--2025), assessed against core principles shared by major user-involvement approaches (e.g., user-/human-centered design, participatory/co-design, and inclusive design). The findings indicate that user involvement remains limited and is predominantly concentrated in late-stage evaluation rather than in early requirements definition or iterative co-design. Of the 399 records screened, only 23 studies (about 6%) met the inclusion criteria of verifiable end-user involvement, and many relied on small samples, often around ten participants, with limited justification for sample size selection, proxy users, laboratory-based validation, and non-standardized feedback methods. Research teams were largely engineering-dominated (about 89%) and geographically concentrated in high-income countries. Despite strong evidence that sustained user engagement improves usability and adoption in assistive technology, its systematic implementation in RW research remains rare. Advancing the field requires embedding participatory methodologies throughout the design lifecycle and addressing systemic barriers that constrain meaningful user involvement.