Geintra

This article describes a DSP-based electronic board, designed for use in applications requiring high performance, in terms of processing times, ease of interface with other systems and flexibility. The board has been designed especially to be used on a wheelchair for disabled people that includes different guidance strategies and safety sensors. An architecture joining the fundamental characteristics of high speed and flexibility is needed due to the following factors: the complexity and variety of the wheelchair's guidance modes, the need for processing a large amount of information in real-time, and adapting the system to the user's needs. The functions that the board needs to be able to carry out include the following: position and speed control, processing of information coming from ultrasonic and infrared sensors, path planning and control interfaces with the user. Communication between the several blocks of the wheelchair is performed using the serial protocol of the Echelon bus.