Future Path Presentation to Passengers of an Autonomous Wheelchair Using Vibrotactile Feedback

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method for autonomous wheelchairs to communicate their future path to passengers using vibrations, improving user comfort and understanding.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel vibrotactile feedback method that conveys both direction and width of wheelchair turns.

Findings

Presenting the future path with vibrotactile feedback improved user understanding of wheelchair movements.

Including avoidance maneuver information increased users' sense of security compared to directional-only feedback.

Abstract

While autonomous wheelchairs reduce the burden on passengers, automation can make it difficult for them to anticipate the future path of the wheelchair, potentially causing anxiety or discomfort due to unexpected movements. In this study, we define “path” as the geometric trajectory of the wheelchair position, without considering temporal aspects. Providing passengers with information about this future path is crucial, particularly when multiple pedestrians or obstacles are present. Previous studies have primarily focused on presenting only the direction in which the wheelchair turns. In this study, we propose a path presentation method that conveys both the direction and width of turns by varying the duration of haptic apparent motion according to the turning width. The results from the evaluation experiment showed that presenting the future path, including the extent of avoidance maneuvers, improved user understanding and offered a slightly greater sense of security compared to methods that presented only directional information or no feedback at all.

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