Ability to Steer

The goal of this test was to ensure that the wheelchair would be able to change directions when the motors were in use. This test was conducted by putting the system into all assistance mode and having the motors run at full speed. Once the motors were running, we moved the joystick in four different directions. When moved to the left or right of the center, the wheels went in the opposite direction of one another. When the joystick was pushed to the right, the left motor went forwards and the right motor went backwards. When the joystick was pushed to the left, the opposite happened. Furthermore, when the joystick was pushed forwards indicating forwards, the wheels went in the same direction as when the system went into the all assistance mode. When the joystick was pulled down, indicating the wheelchair was supposed to go backwards, both the right and left wheels changed directions. When the test dummy was put in the wheelchair, this was not the case. The wheelchair was not able to overcome the static friction without assistance, so because of this, the wheelchair does not have the ability to steer. If there was less weight on the wheelchair, this might have solved the issue.