Recent Developments of the HLPR Chair

The Home Lift, Position and Rehabilitation (HLPR) Chair, developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) within the Intelligent Systems Division (ISD) from 2005 to 2006, is currently being evaluated for static stability using computer aided design. The HLPR Chair has a unique shape as compared to conventional wheelchairs and powered chairs. Therefore, evaluation of its stability is necessary to ensure rider safety. Also, the HLPR Chair was originally designed and built with only manual controls. Recently, the HLPR Chair has been transitioned towards an autonomous patient mobility device to evaluate its performance for navigation by less cognizant drivers, such as patients with early signs of dementia. Preliminary electronics, software drivers and calibrations have been completed. Also, a plan has been developed for providing fully autonomous HLPR Chair capability based on previous defense project developments at NIST using a standard control architecture called 4 Dimensional/Real-time Control System (4D/RCS). Approximated stability evaluation, control developments and autonomous control plans are described in this paper.