A Strategy for Minimizing Parkinsonian Noise from a Joystick Controlled Wheeled Mobile Robot

Just, Fabian M.S.E.C.E., Purdue University, December 2013. A Strategy for Minimizing Parkinsonian Noise from a Joystick Controlled Wheeled Mobile Robot . Major Professor: Raymond A. DeCarlo. This thesis investigates movement of an electric wheelchair as a wheeled mobile robot (WMR) with a battery rechargeable through regenerative braking.The WMR has two wheels, each of which can propel or brake. This leads to four modes of operation: propel-propel, brake-brake, propel-brake, and brake-propel. Braking can be either done by a propelling wheel using negative torques or by regenerative braking which also applies a negative torque. The thesis begins with a presentation of the WMR model. Performances Indices (PI) are introduced as metrics for specific driving scenarios. For almost all scenarios, the PI is used in a model predictive control (MPC) strategy for the following set of scenarios with and without noisy measurements on the distance to a wall which simulate a noisy sensor measurement for: -a wall following scenario -a wall cornering scenario -a combined scenario Results of a combined scenario with Parkinsonian noise on distance to the wall measurements and velocity with and withoutthe use of a notch filter are presented and interpreted. xiii Finally Parkinsonian noise is imposed on a joystick wheelchair control scenario with and without the use of a notch filter. The central result of this thesis is to erase the Parkinsonian tremor from the input of the joystick of a electric wheelchair to improve the life quality of disabled users.