Location-based Services Applied to an Electric Wheelchair Based on the GPS and GSM Networks

With the development of social affairs and human civilization, the services demand for the ageing and handicapped people will be increasing, as well as for the development of better means of service robot. This paper outlines a design which incorporates the power of concurrent GPS and GSM networks positioning technology to provide location-based services for an electric wheelchair. It offers a better monitor service for elder and the person who has a handicap in the using of a wheelchair. In contrast to methods which depend solely on GPS positioning, the proposed method provides higher positioning accuracy and is capable to compensate the problem of the lost of GPS signals in urban areas or indoors. The design is composed by a GPS receiver, a GSM/GPRS module for location acquisition and message transmission, a 32-bit DSP microprocessor as controller and a web-based management server designed on the LabWindows/CVI for monitoring and tracking the wheelchair´s positions. We have implemented several real world experiments for our design and results are promising.