Wheelchair controlled by iphone
Dynamic Controls, a company that develops wheelchair control units has incorporated the iphone into the control of the chair. The iphone (or ipod Touch) connects to the wheelchair wirelessly using bluetooth or wifi and allows the user to control all aspects of movement through a graphical user interface. This allows a user to control their wheelchair even when they are not in their chair. If the wheelchair was on the other side of the room and had a backpack attached the user wanted, using their iphone the user would control their wheelchair and move it to the bed. In addition to controlling the wheelchair error codes can be shown to let the user know that there is a problem and what can be done to fix it. The Internet connectivity is used to access the Dynamic Control website which keeps news and other information that interest users of the powered wheelchairs. To keep the iphone charged there is a docking station built into the wheelchair that also allows the user to control their wheelchair without having to hold their iphone. (Source: nexux404.com)
From a single device you can now access the Internet, have telephone support and move your wheelchair around. The company did not say so in the article but they should also be working on an application that let Dynamic Controls know about problkems so they could set up a technician to come out and fix the chair. Since all the new iphones have GPS hardware built in, it would be easy to determine where the user was at in case they needed immediate help or would be staying at that location until hardware support could come by. Integration of hardware into the wheelchair is about time as it now makes it easy to access the chair whether the user is in it or not. Many times my wheelchair was moved by hospital staff and I had to repeatedly call to et them to move the chair back so I could get to it. Rather than waiting for the nursing staff to get around, by using the iphone control, I could have moved the chair myself and accessed the movie or whatever else I needed. Any time that disabled people are given more control over their lives and more mobility it is a good day and that is the case here. It would be great if the interface hardware would be easily installed on any wheelchair that was powered. those that already have a wheelchair could now run it from their iphone.
The camera was not noted to be used on the iphone but depending on where the charger was placed, the camera could be turned on and used as a video camera if the user wanted to show his friends where he was. IT would be also useful to get directions and show where you were so a business or friend could talk you in from where you were. With the hardware and software built into the iphone, it is almost limitless what can be done to integrate it into a wheelchair. Here hopes that other vendors use the same connection and docking station to reduce the cost of smart controls on the wheelchair. Rather than harging for a custom controller, the iphone could be used to control the wheelchair from the screen or from voice if the user was a quad. Plus it would be easy to add new features by merely downloading a new applet rather than having to install a whole new controller.
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