We are living in a technology-based society where we have lots of innovative ideas day by day. These new innovations in IoT communications-based projects come as an ever-growing network that strives constantly to share and gather insight on the latest trends in the industrial IoT Platform.
There are millions of disabled people in this world who are always in need of helping hands. Independent mobility reduces the dependence on caregivers. Disabled people always find themselves challenging to go out independently because of their physical deficiency or inability to move in a normal fashion. A wheelchair is a mechanical device that improves the lifestyle and increases the mobility of disabled people, allowing them to explore their surroundings.  As all people cannot use the traditional electric wheelchair, there should be some communication between the user and the wheelchair to control it. It is very difficult for disabled users to drive a wheelchair with their arms.  However, some people really feel difficult to manipulate the direction of the wheelchair with their hands because of paralyzed condition, old age, handicapped.
 Here we develop a prototype wheelchair to overcome all those. As there are various techniques to control the electric wheelchair, there is at least one disadvantage for each technique i.e. in the case of voice recognition and guidance technique it is not applicable for dumb people and it is also not applicable in noisy areas. In this proposed work, we control the wheelchair using the eye blink of the user.
PROPOSED SYSTEM:
The purpose of this eye-controlled wheelchair is to eliminate the assistance required for disabled people.  Promoting independent mobility, it develops the feeling of self-reliance by reducing dependence on any assistance. A person having any difficulty in functional mobility suffers from aloofness as they decrease their participation in various social activities that leading to cause stress, isolation, and fear of negligence.
As we all know, Decision-making considering commands coming from eye blinking, to give mobility to a wheelchair, is not a simple task, bad decisions can end up in moving a person in the wrong direction, which will give more difficulties instead of solutions. The developed system discriminates involuntary blinking from a low motion voluntary blinking and takes a decision to move forward a model wheelchair. The position and given commands are sent to an IoT platform to save the wheelchair.
This project uses Raspberry Pi 4, Arduino, and geared dc motors to create a movement of wheelchairs. The patient can move either using eye blinks or by using a joystick. The user can select the mode of control. The eyeblink is captured by the Brainsense. The GUI is designed in such a way that the user can easily identify and operate the chair. A touchscreen is used as the control interface. A battery level indicator is used to indicate battery level. Home automation is achieved through the control interface. Communication takes place through Wi-Fi over MQTT Protocol. It reduces human efforts by controlling the appliance from the place we are in. An app is developed to receive alert messages sent from the wheelchair to inform relatives in case of an emergency.
 With the help of a Brain-computer interface, it serves as an efficient assistive technology that can help disabled people in their routine life. The wheelchair can be started and stopped by the eye blink movements. The patient can move from one place to another by blinking his eyes which is detected by using EEG signals in the brain. This allows the user to control the direction for four movements left turn, right turn, forward and backward movement, of the wheelchair. The brain sensor senses whether the eye is open or closed. For every indication, there will be respective movements.
HARDWARE REQUIRED:
- RASPBERRY Pi 4:
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B designed as the latest product in the popular Raspberry Pi range of computers. This model features ground-breaking increases in processor speed, multimedia performance, memory. And connectivity compared to the predecessor Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ while retaining backward compatibility and similar power consumption. Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is capable of providing desktop performance comparable to entry-level x86 PC systems. This version comes with 4GB of RAM, but we also have versions with 1 and 2 GB.
- Arduino Mega:
Arduino Mega is an open-source based on the Microchip ATmega2560 developed by Arduino. cc. The current version of Arduino Mega 2560 is an updated version of Arduino Mega. It has 54 digital input/output pins, 16 analog inputs, 4 UARTs (hardware serial ports), a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. And an Atmega2560 microcontroller is used to connect with external electronics circuits. Out of 54 I/O ports, 15 pins were used for PWM output.
- GEARED MOTOR:
A geared motor designed specifically to produce high torque sufficient to carry the load. This Geared Motor is widely used for industrial applications. They offer a wide range of applications makes them perfect for DIY project makers as well as small business machines. These are designed as a simple DC motor with a metal gearbox attached to them. This metal gearbox is used for driving the shaft of the motor. So in short it is a mechanically commutated electric motor powered via DC supply. These Motors are also prominent for their compact size and massive torque-speed characteristic.
- L298N Motor Driver:
Motor drivers act as an interface between motors and control circuits. Control circuitry works on low  Current whereas the motor requires high currents so it is the function of the motor driver to convert the low  Current control signals into high current signals. In this project L298N motor driver which is a low current driver is used.L298N board is a dual motor driver which helps to interface motors that draw up to 2A of current
- BRAIN SENSE:
The brain senses safely measures and outputs the EEG power spectrums (alpha waves, beta waves, etc), sense meters (attention and meditation), an eye blink. The device consists of a headset, an ear clip, and a sensor arm. The headband reference and ground electrodes are on the ear clip and the EEG electrode is on the sensor arm, resting on the forehead above the eye. It uses a single AAA battery with 8 hours of battery life.
- TFT Display:
In most Electronics projects, we would be extremely delighted to have a display through which we can monitor the vitals of our project. This module adds a touch-up to your project with a beautiful large touchscreen display shield with a built-in microSD card connection. The display can load images from an SD card using the SD card slot present at the back of the device.
- RELAY:
A relay is designed as an electrically operated switch. Many relays operate with an electromagnet to mechanically operate a switch. Relays functions where it’s necessary to regulate a circuit by a low-power signal. This is performed with complete electrical isolation between control and controlled circuits, or several circuits that should be controlled by one signal. This 5V Relay is an automatic control circuit and controls a high-current using a low-current signal. The input voltage of the relay signal ranges from 0 to 5V. This 5V RELAY is controlled directly by Microcontroller Arduino.
NODEMCU:
The Latest NODMCU Esp8266 Serial Wireless IoT Board was designed based on an integrated chip specifically to fulfill the needs of a new connected world with self-contained SOC and integrated TCP/IP protocol stack. It gives access to any microcontroller on your WiFi network. This Module is capable of either hosting an application or offloading all Wi-Fi networking functions from another application processor. This wireless module is completely addressable over SPI and UART protocols. As a result grants permission to connect your sensors or project directly to it through its GPIO.
CONTROL INTERFACE:
A touchscreen is used as the control interface. The user can select the mode of control. The wheelchair is controlled either using an eyeblink or by a joystick. The GUI is very user-friendly. It has also provided for selecting various operations like home automation, and alert passage. The battery level is indicated on the screen when the battery icon is pressed.
CONCLUSION:
IoT or the internet of things is characterized as a forthcoming innovation that empowers us to control equipment gadgets through the Internet. This IoT-based system is designed specifically for the assistance of disabled persons to control their wheelchair movement without receiving help from other persons. Raspberry Pi is the latest technology available in the modern world. But what makes Raspberry Pi special is that it has its own Operating System, thereby reducing the circuitry on the person’s body. This system is an eco-friendly, highly efficient, and cost-effective system and can be operated also with the help of a joystick.
This is one of the interesting IoT project ideas to create. This Self Reliant feature is what we want to reinstate in disabled persons. We have developed a wheelchair system that enables disabled patients to move their wheelchair independently in their own direction. It also provides an emergency indication in times of necessity and doctors can then provide patients with immediate solutions and guidance based on their health conditions. It also avoids unwanted movement, which may even cause danger to user life.