Wheelchair Mounted Robotic Arm and Wrist/Arm Support for Tremor Patients

Statistics from 2011 show that approximately 12.1% of the United States population lived with disabilities of varying types and severity. Some of these individuals, who have limited or no control of arm or head movement, use wheelchairs equipped with communication devices to control their environment. Such devices are typically mounted on a fixed arm in a position that obstructs the line of sight of a user when navigating their wheelchair. A user-controlled, single-axis, rotary robotic arm, which moves a communication device in and out of a user's line of sight, has been designed and will be installed on a Quantum Q6 Edge wheelchair to be used by an individual. Disabilities, such as tremors, affect an individual's ability to perform fine motor tasks, such as using touchscreen tablet devices. A wrist/arm support has been designed to assist in the operation of such touchscreen devices by reducing the frequency and amplitude of the tremor. Both projects were completed by a group of undergraduate Mechanical Engineering students from the University of Wyoming.