(U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.) — As part of an assistive technology capstone project within the U.S. Air Force Academy’s (USAFA) Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, cadets have created a groundbreaking wheelchair that can be piloted with the user’s eyes.
According to USAFA, the project began with a cadet in the Class of 2020 who reverse-engineered a motorized wheelchair. Since then, four groups of cadets continued the effort annually, resulting in an eye-motion-assisted controller to operate the chair.
“The primary contribution of cadets currently working on this capstone is two-fold,” said Col. Brian Neff, permanent professor and mentor to the assistive technology capstone cadets. “They took things from previous prototypes that worked and they refined them to be repeatable and effective, even in an uncontrolled environment. They also redesigned control interfaces based off of video game technology.”
Before graduating with the Class of 2024, USAFA said the five cadets working on the project will present the gaze-assisted prototype to an individual with mobility-related disabilities who uses a motorized wheelchair.
“The ability to present someone with this technology at the end of our capstone made the project very appealing to me,” said Cadet 1st Class Ameen Khan of Cadet Squadron 36.
Besides its humanitarian use, USAFA said the cadet capstone project has potential Defense Department application as an eyesight-control interface for pilots, ground vehicle operators, and more.
