Journal of Enabling Technologies

Design and development of a robotic self-transfer device for wheelchair users

R. Hari Krishnan, S. Pugazhenthi,
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Journal of Enabling Technologies, Vol. 11 Issue: 2, pp.59-72, https://doi.org/10.1108/JET-12-2016-0025
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 Design and development of a robotic
self-transfer device for wheelchair users

R. Hari Krishnan and S. Pugazhenthi

Abstract R. Hari Krishnan is a Research

Purpose – Wheelchair users face great difficulty in transferring themselves from one surface to another, Scholar and S. Pugazhenthi is a
for example from wheelchair to a toilet commode. In such cases, mostly a caregiver’s assistance may be Professor and the Dean, both
required, but it affects one’s dignity. The purpose of this paper is to develop a robotic self-transfer device, at the School of Mechanical
which is aimed at offering privacy and independence to people with lower limb disabilities in performing Engineering, SASTRA
daily activities.
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University, Thanjavur, India.

Design/methodology/approach – The device, attached to a powered wheelchair, is useful in transferring a
user from a wheelchair to a toilet commode or any other surface following simple and natural transfer
procedure without the need of any caregiver. The user can achieve transfer by operating joysticks. The device
employs two linear actuators and a motor to accomplish the transfer. Trials were carried out to test the
performance of the device by involving potential beneficiaries.
Findings – The device could successfully transfer the participants from a wheelchair to a chair with less effort in
less than a minute. The results of the trials show that the participants felt comfortable in using the device. It was
also found that the device is superior to other existing transfer systems in terms of comfort and operation.
Originality/value – The existing self-transfer systems are alternative solutions that serve the purpose of
mobility coupled with self-transfer. Instead of developing an alternative mobility solution, this paper proposes
a novel design of a self-transfer device that can be used as an attachment to wheelchair.
Keywords Assistive device, Independent living, People with disability, Self-transfer, Transfer device,
Wheelchair
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
Nearly 15 percent of the world’s population has a physical disability from birth, or through
accident, disease or aging and this continues to be on the rise. Out of this, 70 million people have
a lower limb disability and require a wheelchair for mobility (WHO, 2011). Even though a
wheelchair facilitates mobility, transferring to and from a wheelchair still remains a problem. This
affects their daily life activities including using a toilet. Either a caregiver’s assistance may be
Received 30 December 2016
required for the person with disability to use the toilet which affects their dignity, or he/she may Revised 17 February 2017
have to struggle to transfer onto toilet commode. In public places, like government offices, 20 February 2017
cinema halls, railway stations, bus stations, etc. in developing countries where wheelchairs are 22 February 2017
Accepted 26 February 2017
not available, people with disability are left with no option but to crawl from their vehicle which is
The authors are grateful to
usually a customized three- or four-wheeled scooter. Navigating by crawling on the floor is Science and Engineering Research
demeaning for the person and can also be distressing for the public who may not know whether Board (SERB), Department of
Science and Technology (DST),
or how to assist. Therefore, a transfer device can be a helpful addition in this regard, if it can be Government of India, for the
controlled by the user without the need of a caregiver. In the above mentioned public places, financial support (SB/S3/MMER/
0068/2013) to the project titled
wheelchairs along with a transfer device can be made use of. The user can transfer himself/ “Design and development of a
herself to the wheelchair from his/her vehicle, navigate toward the destination sitting in the wheelchair-based assistive robotic
system with self-transfer facility,”
wheelchair with the transfer device still connected to it and upon reaching the destination, he/she Modern Physiotherapy Clinic,
can get transferred to a comfortable chair. This would certainly improve independent living of a Thanjavur for their expert opinion
wheelchair user by increasing his/her self-confidence, self-esteem and happiness levels and the workshop of SASTRA
University for the fabrication
(Krishnan and Pugazhenthi, 2014). Thus, this paper proposes a novel design of a robotic of the device.

DOI 10.1108/JET-12-2016-0025 VOL. 11 NO. 2 2017, pp. 59-72, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2398-6263 j JOURNAL OF ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES j PAGE 59
 self-transfer device that can be used as an attachment to a powered wheelchair, developed for
transferring a wheelchair user from one surface to another.
Transfer devices can be classified into two categories, caregiver-assisted transfer devices and
self-transfer devices. Patient pivot, Hoyer-sling lifts, wall and ceiling lifts, etc. are a few caregiver-
assisted transfer devices available commercially (Krishnan and Pugazhenthi, 2014). In research
scenario, Mori et al. (2012) and Grindle et al. (2015) have developed devices that could assist a
caregiver to transfer a wheelchair user from one surface to another. Self-transfer devices can
eliminate or reduce the need for a caregiver to a large extent. One such device was developed by
Takahashi et al. which consists of a robotic arm carrying a saddle on top, hinged above a platform
that moves horizontally employing omni-directional wheels (Takahashi et al., 2003; Takahashi
and Yamaguchi, 2010). The home, Lift, Position and Rehabilitation (HLPR) chair is another
self-transfer device developed by National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA
(Bostelman and Albus, 2008; Bostelman et al., 2010). It addresses locomotion, lift assistance and
rehabilitation along with self-transfer. A mobility device for people with physical disabilities, named
TEK Robotic Mobilization Device (TEK RMD), has been developed by Hacikadiroglu
and Canidemir (2015) which also addresses self-transfer of a person with a lower limb disability.
The three self-transfer systems mentioned above are the alternative solutions that serve the
purpose of mobility coupled with self-transfer. Even though self-transfer is made possible, these
systems have limitations which are discussed further in Section 4. Among the three existing
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devices, TEK RMD is the only device that is commercially available but, a device like TEK
RMD is not affordable to most disabled people in developing countries because of their
socio-economic conditions. Hence, instead of developing an alternative mobility solution,
designing a self-transfer device as an attachment to a wheelchair is worth exploring.

2. Method
2.1 Target users
The target users of the device are wheelchair users with a lower limb disability due to chronic
diseases like polio, paraplegia, etc. or accidents. Individuals with discrepancy in their lower limbs or
flexion contracture at the knee are included. People using artificial limbs below the knee are also
within the scope of the target users. The users are expected to have fully functional upper limbs.

2.2 Design
The conceptual design of the robotic self-transfer device mainly depends on the transfer process
and the intermediate stages involved during the process. The general procedure for transferring a
person manually by a caregiver (Carter, 2008) is adopted for the transfer process. As per the
general procedure, transfer from a wheelchair to another chair, cot or commode involves the
following sequence: raising from the wheelchair, turning to orient the body over the surface to
which transfer is aimed at and placing on the target location. For a person with lower limb
disabilities, assistance is needed during the whole sequence of transfer process. In the proposed
design, the device consists of a length adjustable robotic arm, with a cushioned saddle on top,
hinged to the center of a turntable. The length as well as the angle of tilt of the arm can be
adjusted through actuation. The transfer process is achieved through five different stages as
shown in the conceptual design depicted in Figure 1.
The wheelchair user with the self-transfer device attached to it can navigate to the toilet using a
joystick control. Once positioned just ahead of the commode, the user can lean forward to a rest
his/her chest onto the cushioned saddle in Stage 1. During Stage 2, as illustrated in Figure 1,
upon actuation, the length of adjustable arm elongates and simultaneously tilts angularly so as to
bring the user to a standing and bending forward posture as shown in Stage 3. During Stage 4,
upon actuation, the turntable on which the user is standing rotates until his/her bottom is
positioned above the toilet seat. At the end of Stage 4, the user in the bending forward posture
can pull down his/her clothing. Finally in Stage 5, the arm shortens and tilts, exactly in the
opposite direction as that of the raise motion, placing the user onto the toilet seat (Krishnan and
Pugazhenthi, 2015).

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 Figure 1 Conceptual design of robotic self-transfer device showing stages of transfer
motion

Wheel chair Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 5

Saddle

Toilet
commode
+
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+ +

Self-transfer device Turntable Length-adjustable arm

A prototype of a manual self-transfer device was developed prior to the development of

robotic self-transfer device (Krishnan and Pugazhenthi, 2016). The manual as well as the robotic
self-transfer devices follows the same conceptual design described above with the differences
only being in the way of their construction and operation. Trials were carried out with the
participation of potential beneficiaries in the development stage of the manual version. The trials
were useful in finalizing the design specifications like dimensions of the device when attached to a
wheelchair, dimension of the turntable, height of the length adjustable arm, etc. and in deciding
the height of the turntable from the floor which should be more or less at the same level of the foot
rest of the wheelchair (Krishnan and Pugazhenthi, 2015, 2016). The trials also helped in ensuring
the stability of the device by designing a sturdy turntable assembly using a rigid frame in order to
overcome tendency of toppling during transfer process.
Figure 2 shows a computer-aided design model of the proposed robotic self-transfer device. The
transfer process from one surface to another is achieved through a sequence of three different
motions, namely, “raise,” “turn” and “sit.” To achieve these motions, the device comprises of two
modules, namely, raise/sit and turn assistance modules. The device is designed to be attached or
detached easily from the wheelchair, so that it need not to be carried along during normal locomotion.
In order to avoid the wheelchair causing any obstruction to the user’s body during transfer, the
length-adjustable arm needs to be pushed away from the wheelchair while simultaneously
increasing its height. To achieve this, two linear actuators are employed in raise/sit assistance
module as shown in Figure 2. Linear actuator 1 with a force capacity of 1,000 N and stroke length
of 300 mm and Linear actuator 2 with a force capacity of 1,000 N and stroke length of 100 mm
are chosen to meet a payload capacity of 100 kg. Once raised, the user is rotated until his/her
bottom faces the surface onto which transfer is required using a turn assistance module.
This module employs an epicyclic gear arrangement comprising a larger sun gear carrying the
turntable, fixed at the center of the base frame and a smaller planetary gear driven by a motor, which
revolves around the sun gear so as to rotate the turntable. In order to determine the torque required to
turn the turntable, mass moment of inertia of a human body in a bending forward posture is estimated
(Krishnan et al., 2016). To calculate the acceleration torque, a low speed of 1 rpm and a moderate
acceleration to attain this speed in one second are considered. Taking a co-efficient of friction of 0.1,
conservatively, between sun and planetary gears, frictional torque is computed. Thus for a payload of
100 kg, a motor with a torque capacity of 15 Nm and a speed of 11 rpm was chosen.

VOL. 11 NO. 2 2017 j JOURNAL OF ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES j PAGE 61

 Figure 2 CAD model of robotic self-transfer device attached to a wheelchair

Raise/sit assistance module

Cushioned saddle

Linear actuator 1
Curved handle
Turn assistance module

Motor for turntable

Linear actuator 2
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Turntable

Apart from raise/sit assistance module and turn assistance module, another major component is
the cushioned saddle onto which the user rests his/her chest during the transfer process. It is
designed in consultation with a physiotherapist so as to ensure comfort and safety. The saddle
has a wooden base plate, padded with orthopedic foam to ensure cushioning and is covered with
a soft touch fabric. A side support in the form of a short pole wrapped with foam is provided on
either side of the saddle and it goes below the under arms when the user places his/her
torso on top of the saddle. This along with the curved handle in front of the user also with
soft touch material, which the user holds with both hands, ensures safety during transfer process.
As slings covered or straps are not needed to hold the user into the device, the role of
caregiver is eliminated. The device is designed to facilitate transfer from or to a surface of
height ranging from 0.4 m (western toilet commode) to 0.77 m (seat of a customized scooter for
people with disability).
Figure 3 shows a block diagram describing the control of the robotic self-transfer device by
means of PIC16F877A microcontroller. Three thumb joysticks, A, B and C are employed
for tilt, height and turn control, respectively, forming the input unit of the device. The joysticks are
placed in such a way that joysticks A and B can be operated using left thumb of the user and
joystick C can be operated using the right thumb while the hands are still holding the curved
handle. The output signals of the joysticks are fed to the analogue input pins of the PIC16F877A
microcontroller. The output unit comprises of the actuators and corresponding driver units.
A pulse width modulation output is fed to the driver circuitry of the turntable motor so as to reduce
the speed of rotation of the same. A radio frequency identification (RFID) reader is employed to
ensure safety by stopping the rotation of the turntable, automatically, when the user’s bottom
faces the surface to which he/she should be transferred. The power required for the operation of
the device is drawn from the wheelchair battery (24 V, 18 Ah).

2.3 Working
The prototype of the robotic self-transfer device attached to a powered wheelchair is shown in
Plate 1. The specifications of the self-transfer device are provided in Table I. The transfer device
attached to a power wheelchair measures 1.07 m long × 0.6 m wide × 0.9 m high, enabling it
to be used inside a normal bathroom size of 1.7 m long × 0.9 m wide. Once the user has placed

PAGE 62 j JOURNAL OF ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES j VOL. 11 NO. 2 2017

 Figure 3 A block diagram of actuators and control of the robotic self-transfer device

Input Output

Joystick “A” Digital output Linear

Motor
Tilt control driver 1 actuator 1

Joystick “B” PIC 16F877A

Height Microcontroller Motor Linear
control board driver 2 actuator 2

Joystick “C” Analog input Motor Turntable

Turn driver 3 motor
control
PWM output
Serial input
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5 V Voltage 9 V Voltage RFID

regulator regulator reader

24 V 12 V, 5A,
Battery DC-DC Step
Source down

Power supply

Plate 1 Side view (a) and front view (b) of the powered self-transfer device

(a) (b)

his/her chest onto the saddle, he/she can reach forward to hold the handle and push up joystick
A, using his/her left thumb while still holding the curved handle with both hands. This extends
both the linear actuators and as a result, Linear actuator 1 facilitates increase in height of the
length-adjustable arm and Linear actuator 2 facilitates tilting the arm by pushing it away.
Joystick A can be pushed up to extend both the linear actuators until the length-adjustable

VOL. 11 NO. 2 2017 j JOURNAL OF ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES j PAGE 63

 Table I Specifications of the self-transfer device

Parameters/features Specifications

Size (along with wheelchair) 1.07 m long × 0.6 m wide × 0.9 m high
Ground clearance 0.095 m
Floor to turntable height 0.175 m
Turntable diameter 0.45 m
Height of the length-adjustable arm from Minimum: 0.76 m, maximum: 0.9 m
turntable top to saddle top
Transfer surface height From 0.40 m to 0.77 m
Device mass (without wheelchair) 30 kg
Payload Up to 100 kg
Transfer time o 60 s
Wheelchair-transfer device attachment/ o 15 s
detachment time
Motors
Linear actuator 1 Load: 1,000 N, Stroke length: 300 mm, Speed: 10 mm/s
Linear actuator 2 Load: 1,000 N, Stroke length: 100 mm, Speed: 10 mm/s
Turntable motor Torque 15 Nm, Speed: 11 rpm
Power source (2 × 12v), 18 Ah batteries in the wheelchair
Control unit PIC16F877A microcontroller development board
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Minimum bathroom size 1.7 m ( 66.92 in) long × 0.9 m (35.43 in) wide

arm becomes vertical. At this stage, the user will be in a standing and bending forward posture.
For further raise, the user needs to push up joystick B placed adjacent to joystick A with his/her
left thumb to extend Linear actuator 1. When required comfortable height is reached, then the
user can push up joystick C using his/her right thumb to actuate the motor to rotate the turntable
in clockwise direction. The turntable motor stops either when joystick C is released by the user or
when the RFID tag is detected when his/her bottom faces the surface onto which transfer is
required. At this stage, pushing down joystick B facilitates retraction of Linear actuator 1, if height
needs to be reduced. Then, joystick A can be pushed down to retract both the linear actuators,
until the person comes to the sitting position. The complete process of transfer of a person from a
powered wheelchair to another chair is shown in Plate 2.

2.4 RFID for user safety

During the turn’ motion, the user is in a standing and bending forward posture and hence it would
be difficult for him/her to exactly align his/her bottom to the surface onto which the transfer should
take place. There are always possibilities of overshooting or undershooting from the required
surface and if this happens, the user has to manually operate the joystick to align to the surface.
To reduce this burden and to ensure safety, a sensor-based control of “turn” motion is planned.
For this, an RFID reader and a couple of 125 kHz RFID tags (cards) are employed.
The RFID reader is placed below the turntable motor, facing to the front and one RFID tag is

Plate 2 Process of transfer of a person from wheelchair to a chair

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)

PAGE 64 j JOURNAL OF ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES j VOL. 11 NO. 2 2017

 affixed to the wheelchair as shown in Figure 4. Another RFID tag can be attached similarly to a
toilet commode or any other surface onto which the transfer should take place. Assuming that
the wheelchair is positioned in front of the commode seat, after being raised from the wheelchair,
the user will operate joystick C to initiate turn motion. While the turntable is being rotated, the
RFID reader scans the area in front of it. When the RFID tag attached to the wheelchair passes
through the scanning field, the reader detects the tag and the turntable is programmed to stop
the rotation. At this instance, the user’s bottom will be facing the commode seat and he/she can
be placed safely onto the same. Similarly, while transferring back to the wheelchair, the turntable
will stop rotating, when the RFID reader detects the tag attached to the commode.

2.5 Trials
For the purpose of testing the device, trials were conducted involving five male participants
(age: 35±7.9) with 90-95 percent disability and a female participant (age: 33 years) with
60 percent disability. The disability ratings are based on the extent of mobility, range of motion in
joints, muscle strength, deformity, etc. as certified by the special medical board for disability
assessment, Thanjavur Medical College, Tamil Nadu, India. The participants were registered with
the District Disabled Rehabilitation Office, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. The trials were carried
out in the presence of a senior physiotherapist and video recorded with the consent of the
participants. The following is the general procedure adopted for the conduct of the trials:
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1. a pre-trial survey session, were each participant was asked his/her views on the need of a
transfer device in general;
2. explanation of the working of the self-transfer device;
3. demonstration of transfer process;
4. guided training session to help the participants operate the transfer device;
5. an evaluation session in which the participants were asked to transfer from an office chair
with handle to a wheelchair and vice versa; and
6. finally, a post-trial survey session with each participant to record the assessment of
performance on a five-point “Likert scale” with “1” implying “poor” and “5” implying “excellent.”

3. Results
The procedure discussed in Section 2.5 was followed to conduct the trials with the six
participants. The questions asked to the participants during the pre-trial session and their
responses are provided furnished in Table II. When asked, whether they need a self-transfer
device attached to a wheelchair, all of them responded affirmatively. Each said that using a

Figure 4 Position and placement of RFID reader and tag

RFID tag
Turntable motor

RFID reader

VOL. 11 NO. 2 2017 j JOURNAL OF ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES j PAGE 65

 Table II Responses to the pre-trial survey questions

Responses (n ¼ 6)
Sl. No. Questions Yes No

1 Would you need a self-transfer device attached to a wheelchair? 6 –

2 Would using such a transfer device make your life easier? 6 –
3 Would you prefer a caregiver control the transfer device for you? 1 5
4 Would you prefer a fully automated programmed transfer device? – 6

self-transfer device attached to the wheelchair would make their life easier. In response to the
third question, five out of six participants did not prefer a caregiver to control the device. Only one
participant wanted a caregiver to control the transfer device for him. All the participants replied in
negative to the fourth question and were against a fully automated programmed device, without
any need for them to control.
After pre-trial survey session, working of the self-transfer device was explained to the participants
followed by the demonstration of the transfer process and guided training session. In the guided
training sessions, the participants were made to practice the transfer process several times until
they became comfortable with using the device. During the evaluation session, a minimum of
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three trials were carried out with a gap of ten minutes between them. All the participants
successfully transferred themselves from a chair to the wheelchair and vice versa. It was
observed that the time required for the transfer to one side was less than a minute in every trial of
the device. In the post-trial survey session, the participants were asked to assess the
performance by giving scores to specific features of the self-transfer device, such as ease of
achieving the transfer process, comfort of operating the joysticks, cushioning of the saddle and
under arm support, state of mind without any fear of falling and without discomfort. A column
graph as illustrated in Figure 5 is plotted using the scores provided by the participants.
From the graph in Figure 5, it can be seen that the scores given by all the participants for ease of
achieving the transfer process and overall comfort perceived by the participants were five except
the Participant 2, who gave a score of 4. This can be attributed to his inhibition toward new
devices or lack of confidence as he was the only person who desired a caregiver to control the
transfer device in the pre-trial survey. After the hands-on training and practice on the device,
this participant gained confidence, was comfortable and hence provided a score of four for both
the features. Thus, the more a user practiced the transfer procedure, the more the device

Figure 5 Comfort scores for various features of powered self-transfer device

4
Ease of achieving transfer
Comfort score

3
Comfort of operating
joysticks
2 Cushioning of saddle and
underarm support
1 State of mind without fear of
fall
Overall comfort perceived
0
t1 t2 t3 t4 t5 t6
ipa
n
ipa
n
ipa
n an an an
r tic r tic r tic r t icip r t icip r t icip
Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa
Participants

PAGE 66 j JOURNAL OF ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES j VOL. 11 NO. 2 2017

 became easy to use. Five out of six participants gave a score of 4 out of 5 for the comfort of
operating the thumb joysticks. A fist operated joystick is ergonomically more comfortable than the
thumb operated joysticks, but due to two joysticks for tilting and raising and also due to the fact
that the user needed to hold the curved handle and simultaneously actuate the joysticks, thumb
joysticks were used. All the participants gave a full score of five for the cushioning of the saddle
and under arm support and none expressed a fear of falling the limited space available to
accommodate. The overall higher ratings provided by the participants suggested that the design
and operation of device was acceptable and it could be used with ease and comfort.
In order to assess the physical strain associated with the handling of the device, the pulse rate of
each participant was monitored before and after the evaluation session by employing a pulse rate
monitor using finger plethysmographic sensor. The measured pulse rates of all the participants,
before and after the trials, were well within the normal range with a maximum deviation of only two
beats per minute, which is not significant. The pulse rate measured after the trials were well within
the target zones (AHA, 2016) of the participants. This correlates well with the higher scores
provided by the participants for the comfort level perceived by them during the transfer.

4. Discussion
The robotic self-transfer device developed in this work can be attached to a powered
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wheelchair whenever transfer is necessary and the user can navigate to the toilet commode in the
wheelchair by operating the joystick. The performance of the self-transfer device developed in this
work is compared with the existing self-transfer systems discussed earlier.

4.1 Comparison with self-transfer aid device by Takahashi et al.

Plate 3 shows the self-transfer aid system developed by Takahashi et al. To achieve transfer, the
user in the wheelchair places his/her chest onto the saddle top and subsequently he/she is
straightened up by lifting the robotic arm using a motor drive. Once the user is straightened,
he/she can navigate to toilet in standing and bending forward posture. Inside the toilet, after
reaching the commode, the device carrying the user can be turned horizontally until the user’s
bottom faces the toilet seat. Then the arm is shortened to place him/her onto the toilet seat.
This transfer aid device is yet another locomotion system by itself and not an attachment to the
wheelchair unlike the one developed in this work. Hence, once the user is transferred onto the aid
device, he/she needs to approach the toilet in an undesirable posture which may be physically or
psychologically difficult for the person. Further, depending on multiple mobility systems results in
redundancy. In the design of the transfer device presented in this paper, an epicyclic gear train is
employed to achieve “turn” motion and to ensure smooth and safe transfer of the user. Takahashi
et al. employs omni-directional wheels for locomotion which may result in the movement of the
device in an undesirable direction (Zhang et al., 2012) and to overcome this, a more sophisticated
control algorithm would need to be used. The device of Takahashi et al. uses two degrees of
freedom, one for tilting the arm so as to straighten up the user and the other for rotation, whereas the
device addressed in this paper employs three degrees of freedom, one for tilting the arm to bring the
user to a standing and bending forward posture, another for adjusting the height of the arm and the
third for rotation. The additional degree of freedom to adjust the height of the arm facilitates reaching
a comfortable standing and bending forward posture, which is an additional advantage.

4.2 Comparison with HLPR chair

The HLPR chair has a complex design and is built around a “forklift” concept. It consists of two
inverted L-shaped frames, one inside the other. The outer L-shaped frame is fixed to the lift device
and the inner L-shaped frame, which carries a seat, which can be rotated within the outer
L-frame. Figure 6 depicts the process of placing a user onto a toilet seat by using HLPR chair.
The HLPR chair user can approach the toilet by operating a joystick. Upon reaching it, the inner
L-frame is rotated to orient the user above the toilet seat. He/she is then lifted up using a torso lift
along with a sling that lifts the user from the user’s thighs. Then the seat moves backwards clearing
the area beneath the user allowing him/her to be placed onto the toilet seat. During this stage, it

VOL. 11 NO. 2 2017 j JOURNAL OF ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES j PAGE 67

 Plate 3 Self-transfer aid device
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Source: Takahashi and Yamaguchi (2010)

would be inconvenient for the user to remove his/her clothing, as the slings would still be attached
and hence HLPR chair users would be expected to wear special clothes that would expose their
bottom. By contrast, with robotic self-transfer device presented in this paper, the user can
conveniently remove clothes if needed in a standing and bending forward posture during the Stage 3
of the transfer process as depicted in Figure 1 and there is no need to wear any special clothing.
The length of the HLPR chair is 1.09 m during locomotion, extended length is 1.45 m during
transfer and it could only be accommodated inside a bathroom that measures 2 m long × 0.9 m
wide, whereas the device in this paper, when attached to a wheelchair measures a length of
1.07 m and the maximum extended length after 180° rotation measures 1.20 m. Hence it could
be accommodated inside a smaller bathroom measuring 1.7 m long × 0.9 m wide.
The robotic transfer device is designed to be detached easily from the wheelchair. This means
the transfer device need not be carried along during normal locomotion, whereas the HLPR chair
carries the mechanisms and actuators required for lift and transfer operation along with it even
during locomotion rendering it less suitable for normal locomotion. Further, HLPR chair employs
seven motors, one for lift operation and two each for steering and driving, seat and foot rest
actuation and torso lift operations, making the device costlier. Due to simple and frugal design,
the robotic self-transfer device presented in this paper is very economical and cost effective.

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 Figure 6 Concept of transferring a user to toilet commode using HLPR chair

HLPR HLPR HLPR

Source: Bostelman et al. (2010)

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4.3 Comparison with TEK RMD

TEK RMD is a mobility device that may be used as an alternative to a powered wheelchair
specifically designed for paraplegic people. The device consists of a mobile chassis with a
pivoting arm attached to it. The pivoting arm carries a pelvis support, which is designed to come
in contact with the lower abdomen or the frontal pelvis of the user, on its upper end. With the help
of two fixing belts or slings the user can be fixed to the pelvis support and thereby he/she remains
fixed permanently to the mobility device. The user, sitting in a chair, still fixed to the mobility
device, actuates a lockable gas spring to pivot the arm upwards to bring him or her to a standing
position on the chassis. They can now maneuver around in this standing position by operating a
joystick and can be transferred to another surface pivoting the arm downwards. Plate 4 shows a
wheelchair user being transferred to a TEK RMD.
The device is not recommended for all individuals with lower limb disabilities for various reasons.
Due to psychological and physical health factors, not all wheelchair users wish to navigate in a
standing position. Moreover, TEK RMD is not recommended for people with leg length
discrepancies of W5 cm and individuals with flexion contractures (www.tek-rmd.co.uk/). Many
people with lower limb disability, especially individuals affected by polio suffer from leg length
discrepancy and flexion contractures at hip, knees or ankles preventing them from standing in an
upright posture. For the robotic self-transfer device presented in this paper, the user can navigate
in the wheelchair with transfer device attached to it, in a sitting posture. Thus the device can be
used by the people who even suffer from autonomic dysreflexia and hypotension while in an
upright standing posture. Most of the participants involved in the trials of this work were affected
by polio and had leg length discrepancy and flexion contractures at hip, knees or ankles.
The device successfully transferred them with ease and comfort, suggesting that it can be used
for people with these kinds of disability. Another limitation of the TEK RMD device is that as the
fixing belts or the slings hold the user onto the device they create more difficulty in removing
clothing, so as to use toilet.
From the discussions above, it can be seen that the transfer device presented in this work
is the only device that can be used as an attachment to a wheelchair, whereas other transfer
devices are standalone devices. In order to use the self-transfer device in a domestic
environment, structural modifications inside the room or bathroom are unnecessary, provided
the bathroom is of minimum length 1.70 m and width 0.9 m with a doorway of minimum
width 0.7 m. The device can also be used in wheelchair accessible toilets in public places
like airports, railway stations, etc. providing these have a minimum dimensions of 2.415 m
long × 1.525 m wide and have a doorway which has a minimum width of 0.815 m in
accordance with ICC A117.1-2009 standards for accessible and usable buildings and facilities
(ICC, 2011).

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Plate 4 Transferring a wheelchair user to TEK RMD

Source: www.matiarobotics.com
 5. Conclusion
A robotic self-transfer device that can be used as an attachment to a powered wheelchair has been
developed which enables a wheelchair user to transfer from one surface to another following a
simple and natural transfer process. A small-scale trial found that the device performed well when
compared with the transfer device of Takahashi et al. HLPR chair and the TEK RMD in terms of
design, comfort and operation. The actuators, electronics and control system of the developed
self-transfer device are less sophisticated and therefore the frugal design of the device will be more
affordable in developing countries. The self-transfer device provides privacy and independence to
the people with disability, enabling them to carry out daily activities with which they might otherwise
require assistance and thereby upholds their dignity not only in a domestic environment but also in
public places like railway stations, bus stations, airports, etc.
As the primary focus of this work has been the design and development of the self-transfer
device, the work involved user trials with a few potential beneficiaries. During the trials, the
participants were able to transfer themselves successfully from a chair to a wheelchair and
vice versa with ease. They did not experience any fear of falling. However, extensive field studies
involving larger samples from different populations in different environments are required for
“fine tuning” of the design. As the transfer device gains global acceptance, a range of design
variants will evolve. Thus, this work is a small step in the journey toward enhancing the quality of
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life of the wheelchair users by improving the level of assistance provided by wheelchairs.

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About the authors

R. Hari Krishnan received his BSc and MSc Degrees in Electronics from the MG University, India
in 2006 and 2008, respectively. He received his MTech Degree in Embedded Systems from the
Hindustan University, India in 2012. He is currently pursuing PhD Degree at the SASTRA
University, India and is a DST-Junior Research Fellow. His research interests include embedded
systems, mechatronics, human-robot interaction and assistive and rehabilitative robotics. He is a
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Member of IEEE and Robotics Society of India (RSI).

S. Pugazhenthi received his MTech Degree in Machine Tool Engineering from PSG College of
Technology, India and PhD Degree from IIT Madras, India in 1990 and 2004, respectively. He is
currently the Professor and Dean at the School of Mechanical Engineering, SASTRA University,
India. He is a recipient of German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Fellowship for the year
2002-2003 and was a Guest Researcher at the Mechatronics Centre, Leibniz University,
Hannover, Germany. His research interests include mechatronics, parallel manipulators,
mobile robots, assistive and rehabilitative robotics. S. Pugazhenthi is the corresponding author
and can be contacted at: [email protected]

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