Development and Performance Evaluation of Variable Wheelchair Wheels.

As ageing populations continue to grow, there is an increasing demand for mobility aids such as wheelchairs. However, conventional wheelchair wheels are designed for level ground and are not suitable for travelling over rough terrain or steps. In addition, with the rapid development of mega-cities, more obstacles such as steps and Braille blocks have been introduced, making outdoor mobility even more challenging for wheelchair users. Although electric wheelchairs have been developed for use in various environments, they are costly and not accessible for all users. To address this issue, the authors focused on developing an affordable wheel that can be used in various driving environments, including flat ground, steps, and rough terrain. They designed a wheel that utilizes a slider-crank mechanism, which can be adjusted by the wheelchair user using a central disc. In this paper, the design of the wheel is presented, and its performance was evaluated through experiments involving step climbing and rough terrain simulations. The results showed a reduction in the force required to overcome steps, improved stability when navigating steps, and enhanced driving performance on rough terrain after deploying the new wheel.