Control of wheelchair on the ramp trajectory using bioelectric

impedance with fuzzy-PID controller

M Aulia, A Arifin, and D Purwanto
Department of Electrical Engineering Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Surabaya,
Indonesia
E-mail: masyitah.aulia1994@gmail.com

Abstract. A person who has a severe disability, have difficulty walking, climbing, and
descending stairs, so requires assistive devices for daily mobility. in particular, the paralysis of
the upper and lower limbs resulted in them being unable to use the wheelchair properly. So that
in this study, an electric wheelchair that can be used by persons with disabilities is made, which
is able to move based on the bioelectrical impedance signal on the part of the body that can still
be moved. The pre-existing research is controlling wheelchairs on flat roads, whereas when the
road goes up or down, the wheelchair has an unstable speed. This research was developed by
utilizing Fuzzy-PID control, which is able to control the wheelchair speed so that it is more
stable. This electric wheelchair with Fuzzy-PID control is able to walk on an up and down ramp
at an angle not exceeding 10 degrees, at a stable speed. The trial subjects used were four people
with different weights. The error rate at each speed increases as the ramp gets steeper, and the
user load gets higher. Success in this trial is at an average success rate of 80%. This occurs
because of the change in the width of the bioimpedance signal, which affects the slow and fast
commands when given the command to move, and the tilt angle of the track which affects the
motor speed when the wheelchair crosses the track.

1. Introduction
The human nervous system is the connection between complex networks in the human body. The
coordinate of the nervous system interprets and controls interactions between the individual and the
surrounding environment [1]. Failure that occurs when weakness or damage to the nervous system is
paralysis. The results obtained by the proportion of the population aged ten years and over who
experience functional difficulties of 8.56% [2]. Patients with disabilities who cannot go up and down
stairs need tools to help with daily mobility. In this case, a tool that is needed is a wheelchair, but for
cases of paralysis in the upper and lower body parts that result in not being able to move conventional
wheelchairs with the help of hands due to paralysis in both hands, then another solution is needed to run
a wheelchair is to use electric wheelchairs that can be driven by utilizing bioelectric impedance signals.
The design of a wheelchair control command is based on changes in trapezoidal muscle impedance.
Impedance measurement using bioelectric impedance instrumentation, there are three electrodes
attached to the shoulder, namely on the right shoulder, left shoulder, and right in the middle of the spine.
The change in impedance value occurs when the trapezius muscle moves, the greater the width of the
muscle, the greater the impedance value, and vice versa the shorter the muscle widening the smaller the
impedance value obtained. Any increase or decrease in the tilt angle will affect the speed of the
wheelchair. The controller works when three inputs are entered, namely track slope, RPM speed, and
rotary encoder sensor. These three inputs are processed in the fuzzification process. Fuzzy variables in
the input value are processed by setting rules. The output of the rule will be a fuzzy variable and will
undergo a defuzzification process. Then feed it back to the controller. Changes in the value of RPM in
a wheelchair consisting of the slow, medium, and tight are influenced by the value of the slope of the
track consisting of flat, slightly upward, and upward.

2. Material
Impedance measurements use bioelectrical impedance with 3 electrodes, each attached to the right
shoulder, left shoulder, and right in the middle of the spine [3]. The trapezius muscle impedance can
change when the trapezius muscle moves. The impedance value will be greater when the muscle
lengthens and will be smaller when the muscle shortens. Impedance changes in the trapezius muscle are
used as a control command by providing a threshold for the bioelectrical impedance output. When the
measured voltage value is greater than the specified threshold, the trapezius muscle movement is
interpreted as a control command, where the detection uses edge detection, as shown in Figure 1. The
threshold is a way to translate the impedance change as a motion control command so that it can be read
by the microcontroller. The block diagram of the whole system is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 1. Speed Command Giving Process

User

Bioimpedance
Instrumentation
System

Thresholding

Classification

Direction of
Speed
Motion
Forward
Motion Turn SetPoint Speed

Angle SetPoint
+
Control Command
-
+ +
- -

PID Control PID Control

Left Driver Right Driver

Rotary Rotary
Endcoder 1 Endcoder 2
Left Motor Right Motor

Left Wheel Right Wheel

Gyroscope Electric Wheelchair

Figure 2. Block diagram of the whole system

2.1. Upper Trapezius Muscle

The trapezius muscle is the muscle that makes up the structure of the human back. It's called a trapezius
because its shape is similar to a trapezius shape. The upper trapezius muscle is part of the trapezius
muscle located at the very top. Upper trapezius muscle fibers extending downward from the occipitalis
up to the seventh cervical vertebrae and extend sideways to the acromion. This muscle often experiences
tightness and stiffness because of its function as a stabilizer [4].

Figure 3. Upper trapezius muscle

2.2. Bioelectrical Impedance

In the human body, there are many networks that are connected to each other; these networks contain
electrical properties that can be utilized for human needs themselves. In research that has been done
through these networks, bioimpedance can be used to help humans because bioimpedance is a resistance
to the flow of current in the network [5]. The ability of current to pass through tissue in the body affects
the frequency size model, if the network has a low frequency, then the current cannot pass through cell
membrane capacitance but can flow through the cell area in the extracellular part. But when the network
is with high frequency, resistivity in capacitance decreases and current can pass through the internal area
of the cell [5].
To measure the bioimpedance signal in the body is done by using two methods, namely the two
electrodes and four electrodes method. The method used this time is a method using three electrodes.
The first electrode and the second electrode have the function to provide current, while the third
electrode serves as a reference in measuring the output voltage from bioimpedance. The electrode
placement will be explained in Figure 5. The amount of bioimpedance can be determined by using Ohm's
law calculation.
By using two integrated circuits, the first is a stimulation circuit that is enabled to generate alternating
current sources with a frequency of 50 kHz and amplitude with a maximum value of 0.5 mA rms. The
second is a series of instrumentations used to measure potential differences in a stimulated body. The
magnitude of the voltage obtained from these measurements represents the magnitude of the value of
the bioimpedance signal, so it can be said to be a system called the bioimpedance instrumentation system
[5].
 Figure 4. Current Flow on a Network

Figure 5. Two Methods for Installing Bioimpedance Measurement

Electrodes (a) Two Electrodes System, and (b) Four Electrodes System

Figure 6. Electrode Placement in the Body

2.3. PID Controller

PID is an acronym for proportional, integral, and derivative. PID controller is a control that consists of
three elements. This PID control was first used in 1939 and is used in almost every control.
Investigations in Japan in 1989 showed that more than 90% of the controls used were PID controls and
an advanced version of PID controls [6]. Tuning is an important parameter for the best performance of
a PID controller. The PID controller can be tuned in various ways, including manual hand-tuning,
Ziegler-Nichols tuning, tuning with Cohen-Coon parameters, and loop tuning, but this has limitations
[7]. The additional combination of proportional, integral, and derivative actions is called proportional-
integral-derivative action. The Control system block diagram with unitary feedback using PID control
actions is shown in Figure 7. Mathematically represented in Equations 1 and 2 below:

𝑑(𝑒) 1 𝑡
𝑦(𝑡) = 𝐾𝑝 [ 𝑒(𝑡) + 𝑇𝑑 𝑑(𝑡) + 𝑇 ∫0 𝑒(𝑡) 𝑑(𝑡) ] (1)
𝑖
𝑑(𝑒) 𝑡
𝑦(𝑡) = [𝐾𝑝 𝑒(𝑡) + 𝐾𝑑 + 𝐾𝑖 ∫0 𝑒(𝑡) 𝑑(𝑡)] (2)
𝑑(𝑡)

Where, y(t) is Controller Output, e(t) is Error Signal, Kp is Proportional Gain, Ki = Kp / Ti is Integral
Gain, Kd = Kp . Td is Gain derivatif Derivative gain, Td is Constant time derivatives, and Ti is Integral
time constant.

R(s) + E(s) Y(s) C(s)

Kp + sKd + Ki/s Process
-

Figure 7. PID Controller

2.4 Fuzzy Controller

Fuzzy controllers are better than PID controllers because they can cover a wider range of operating
conditions and operate with noise and interference from various characteristics. Fuzzy control itself is
widely used as an alternative to PID control due to the limitations possessed by PID control. Fuzzy
Logic controller, as shown in Figure 8, consists of four main parts of fuzzification, rule base, engine
interface, and defuzzification

Fuzzy Controller

Rule Base
Input Output
Preprocessing Fuzzification Defuzzification Post Processing
Interface
Engine

Figure 8. Fuzzy Logic Controller

3. Method
The design of the wheelchair control command is based on the change in impedance of the trapezius
muscle. In measuring the value of impedance using bioelectrical impedance instrumentation, there are
three electrodes attached to the right shoulder, left shoulder, and right in the middle of the spine. The
change in the impedance value occurs when the trapezius muscle moves, the wider the muscle, the
greater the impedance value obtained. Conversely, the shorter the muscle widening eats, the smaller the
impedance value gets.
 Left Right Left SL
Bioelectrical
command
Right
Impedance SR interpretation
Signal
trapezius muscles in
the shoulders

Microcontraller

Fuzzy – PID
IMU
Controller

Rotary
Driver Encoder
Motor

Wheel
Motion
Figure 9. Overall System Diagram

In the stimulation and instrumentation circuit, bioimpedance is connected to STM32 as a control

command. The stimulation circuit is a series of alternating current that has a maximum amplitude of
0.5mA rms and a frequency of 50 kHz. The function of the circuit is to measure potential differences
that exist in the body so that the source of current can be injected into the body through electrodes. The
size of the measured voltage will affect the value of bioimpedance. Bioimpedance measurements will
be changed in digital data so that STM32 can read it by utilizing the capabilities of the internal ADC of
STM32.

VCCS
Square Wave
(Voltage Controlled LPF
Generator
Current Source)
Human body
Left Right
0
shoulder shoulder

Instrumentation
BPF AC to DC Converter
Amplifier
SL SR

Microcontroller

Instrumentation
BPF AC to DC Converter
0 = the ground that lies between the left Amplifier
shoulder and the right shoulder along the spine
Figure 10. Diagram of Motor Control with Bioelectrical Impedance Signal

3.1. Stimulation
The stimulation circuit consists of a square wave generator, low pass filter and Voltage controlled
current source. Changes that occur in the bioimpedance signal will be measured using two electrodes
attached to the body that will be amplified by an instrumentation amplifier that is passed on the band
pass filter so that it gets the desired frequency of 50 kHz.

3.2. Instrumentation
Using 3 op amps, LF412 and 2 unit LF353 which have a maximum voltage that can be passed by +12.7
V and - 12.7 V.
3.3. Command Interpretation
The wheelchair can move forward when given motion commands, namely by raising the left and right
shoulders simultaneously. When the shoulder is moved upwards, the bioimpedance signal will be read
and send the command to the microcontroller to move the wheelchair. When the bioimpedance signal
on the right shoulder is wider or the output signal is greater than the bioimpedance signal on the left
shoulder, there will be a turning direction in the wheelchair, namely turning right. Vice versa, when the
bioimpedance signal on the left shoulder is wider or the output signal is greater than the bioimpedance
signal on the right shoulder, there will be a turning direction in the wheelchair, namely turning left.
When the bioimpedance signal on the right shoulder and the left shoulder is greater than the threshold,
then it is a command for the direction of forwarding motion for the wheelchair. This is shown in Figure
11, namely the Command Interpretation Flow Chart.

Start

initialization

Read Right
Shoulder and
Left Shoulder
Signals

Yes
No Right Shoulder Signal > Yes
X=1 Turn Right
Left Shoulder Signal

Finish

Yes
The Motor Does
Not Turn

No No
Yes
The Motor Does Right Shoulder Signal < Yes
X=2 Turn Left
Not Turn Left Shoulder Signal

Finish

Yes
The Motor Does
Not Turn

No Yes Yes
Right Shoulder Signal > Threshold X=3 Move Forward
Left Shoulder Signal > Threshold

Finish

No The Motor Does

Not Turn

Figure 11. Command Interpretation Flow Chart

3.4. Fuzzification
The controller works when three inputs are entered, namely the slope of the track, the speed of the RPM
and the rotary encoder sensor. These three inputs are processed in the fuzzification process. Fuzzy
variables at the input value will be processed by setting rules. The output of the rule will be a fuzzy
variable and a defuzzification process will occur. The speed sensor measures the speed of the wheel to
feed back to the controller. Changes in the RPM value in a wheelchair consisting of slow, medium, and
fast are influenced by the slope value of the track consisting of flat, starting to tilt, and tilt.

Rotary
Encoder

Rule
Base
PWM + wheel
Fuzzification Defuzzification
chair
-
Interface
Engine

Ramp
Trajectory

Figure 12. Fuzzy Logic Block Diagram

Figure 13. Membership Function of Track Slope, RPM and PWM Speed

4. Result
4.1. Stimulation
The stimulation produces sinusoidal signals with a frequency of 50kHz, and a constant current of 0.5mA
will then be injected into the body through electrodes. Stimulation consists of a square wave generator,
low pass filter, and an inverting amplifier. Square wave generator functions to set the most optimal
frequency in the measurement that is equal to 50Khz. The signal generated by the square wave generator
is then forwarded to the LPF to produce a perfect sinusoidal signal. A sinusoidal signal will be generated
at a cut-off value of 50kHz. The Inverting Amplifier circuit serves to regulate the amplification of
sinusoidal signals generated by LPF so that we can easily adjust the signal amplitude at 2Vrms.
 0.6
0.5
0.4
Gain

0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Frequency
Figure 14. LPF Graph

4.2. Instrumentation
Instrumentation consists of the instrumentation amplifier, band pass filter, and AC to DC Converter.
Strengthening of the instrumentation amplifier is produced by three op-amps, which show the results of
a linear gain. The amount of Rgain obtained is ten times. BPF is done to get the cut off frequency
between 48kHz to 55kHz. From the test results, it was found that the center of frequency is located at
50kHz. Look at Figure 15. In AC to Dc Converter, the sinusoidal signal of 50kHz as an input value of
the function generator with varying amplitude values, the DC voltage will be measured

0.2
0.15
Gain

0.1
0.05
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Frequency

Figure 15. BPF Graph

4.3. Overall system results

In 10 trials on 4 people whose weight was different. From the differences in the people produced
differences in motor speed and differences in response from the bioimpedance signal. In the first person
weighing 45kg, the response to the reading of the bioimpedance signal is very slow, to move the
wheelchair to move forward a number of movements of the shoulders, and the time lag between the
forward motion command and the motorcycle is very long about 5 seconds. In the second person
weighing 51kg, the response from the bioimpedance signal is not so sensitive, when the left and right
shoulders are moved upward, the wheelchair motor does not immediately respond to move forward, it
takes a few seconds (approximately 3 seconds from the time of the motion command) until the
wheelchair moves forward. In a third-person weighing 60kg, the response from the bioimpedance signal
produces a sensitive response, when the left and right shoulders are moved upward, the wheelchair motor
moves forward immediately (approximately 1 second after the shoulder is moved up). In a fourth person
weighing 75kg, the response from the bioimpedance signal that is produced is so slow that it takes a
long time and is carried out several times by motion commands by moving the left shoulder and right
shoulder several times until the wheelchair can move forward.
4.3.1. Flat Trajectory
When moving forward on a flat trajectory with a slope of 0 and its RPM per-minute revolutions around
the 40 s, it will provide a constant PWM rotation. In this experiment, 10 experiments were carried out
with subjects with different body weights. In figure 16 shows that the inclination value is not constant
on a flat trajectory and the RPM speed fluctuates so that the wheelchair speed also has an effect. In the
figure, it can be seen that the success was obtained in subjects weighing 45 kg and 60 kg, where the
angle reading and the RPM speed were constant. Whereas for subjects weighing 51 kg and 75 kg, the
value of the slope angle of the track is negative, indicating it is a descending trajectory, but this does not
affect the rotation at RPM so that the wheelchair is still running normally at a constant speed.

Figure 16. PWM Speed and RPM Against Flat trajectory with Different Subject Weight

4.3.2. Upward Trajectory

When a wheelchair moves on an uphill track, it initially starts on a flat trajectory with a reading of the
tilt angle of the track, which is 0 degrees. When the wheelchair starts to rise on an upward trajectory,
the IMU sensor will read the slope of the track and make the PWM speed change according to the
increasing value of the slope angle of the track. This experiment was carried out on subjects with
different body weights. The heavier the subject and the higher the angle of the trajectory, the faster the
PWM speed.
 Figure 17. PWM Speed and RPM Against an Upward Trajectory 7º with Different
Subject Weight

4.3.3. Downward Trajectory

When a wheelchair moves on a downward trajectory, it initially starts on a flat trajectory with a reading
of the tilt angle of the track which is 0 degrees. When the wheelchair starts to rise on the downward
trajectory, the IMU sensor will read the slope of the track and make the PWM speed change according
to the decreasing value of the slope angle of the track. This experiment was carried out on subjects with
different body weights. The heavier the subject and the lower the tilt angle value, the slower the PWM
rotation.

Figure 18. PWM Speed and RPM Against an Downward Trajectory 7º with Different
Weight of Subjects A, B, C and D
5. Discussion
On a flat track, the PWM value of the motor is in the range of 100 for wheel RPM speeds of 40-50.
Whereas in the upward trajectory, the PWM value is 120 to 140 for the same wheel speed, and in the
downward trajectory, the PWM value is below 100. This difference shows that the Fuzzy-PID controller
action is used to keep the wheel speed the same even though the slope of the track is different. This is
necessary for the comfort of the wheelchair user so that there is no speed varies depending on the slope
of the track. Then for different weights and the same speed, the required PWM value tends to be the
same on a flat and upward path. However, it is different in the downward trajectory, where the PWM
value will be smaller when the bodyweight is getting bigger. This result is very necessary to determine
the effect of the angle of the track slope on the motor speed in a wheelchair.
The limitation in this study is the slope angle of the track not more than 10 degrees. Research has
been carried out in 2018 related to wheelchairs that can cross the upward trajectory, but in his research,
the maximum limit of the slope of the track is 5.3 degrees to get the stability of the motor rotation in a
wheelchair [8].

6. Conclusion
With the aim of helping people with paralysis in order to mobilize their daily activities, especially for
wheelchair users, it is necessary to know the correct electrode position on the user's back so that the
application and development of knowledge about bioelectric impedance using the Fuzzy-PID control
method on the road can be realized.
Based on the trial results, an electric wheelchair motion control system is designed by utilizing the
bioelectrical impedance signal that is on the shoulders of the subject. The bioelectrical impedance signal
produces a maximum voltage of 590mV with a minimum voltage value of 50mV. Electrodes were
placed using the tetrapolar method, 2 electrodes functioned as a stimulus or current injection of 0.5mA.
while the other 3 functions as senders of voltage values from bioelectrical impedance signals from the
subject's shoulders to the instrumentation system which is connected to the microcontroller which will
instruct the electric wheelchair motion command. The electrode placement on the subject's back and the
short width of the muscle on the subject as well as the subject's body weight affect the sensitivity of the
reading of the bioelectrical impedance signal on the shoulder, this occurs because of a decrease in the
value of the voltage resulting from the body's impedance results. The condition of fatigue or fatigue in
the muscles also greatly affects the results of stress measurements from the body's impedance.
From the 10 experiments conducted, the success rate was 80%. The instability of the rotation of the
left motor and right motor in a wheelchair when given a forward motion command occurs when the
wheelchair is tested continuously without pause, the difference in rotation of the left motor and right
motor on a wheelchair also occurs because the mechanical system of the wheelchair is not balanced
between the two wheels front of the wheelchair, the front wheel to the left of the wheelchair is not the
same position as the front wheel to the right of the wheelchair. The results of this trial also obtained a
bioelectrical impedance signal which has a long response when given a motion command. The reading
of the tilt angle of the track that changes according to the tilt of the wheelchair will affect the speed of
the wheelchair motor. The greater the tilt angle of the track and the heavier the subject who uses a
wheelchair when crossing the track up the speed of the wheelchair will increase, and the greater the tilt
angle with a mild subject, the speed of the wheelchair will be relatively fast. And vice versa the smaller
the slope angle of the track and the heavier the subject using a wheelchair, the speed of the wheelchair
will slowly decrease. And the smaller the slope angle of the track with lighter subjects, the relative speed
of the wheelchair increases.
For further research is to design an application to monitor the movement of wheelchairs used by
persons with disabilities.
References
[1] Fred S and Randy N 2015 Practical Anatomy and Physiology: The Skeletal Muscle
SystemAssociation for Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback 38 47–51.
[2] World Health Organization 2018, Disability and Health.
[3] Gracia T J 2009 Multichannel Bioimpedance Measurement Master of Science Thesis Tampere
University Of Technology Biomedical Department Universitat Politecnica De Catalunya
Enginyeria Electronica.
[4] Amit V N, Paul G, Aakanksha J, and Gopichand R The Efficacy of an Integrated
Neuromuscular Inhibition Technique on Upper Trapezius Trigger Points in Subjects with Non-
Specific Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial Journal of Manual and Manupulative
Therapy 18 37-43.
[5] Toivo P, Mart M, Dennis T 2011 Low-Energy Chirps for Bioimpedance Measurement 34th
International Conference on Telecommunications and Signal Processing (TSP) 18-20 Aug.
2011
[6] Araki M 2017 PID Control Control system, robotics and automation 2 694–696
[7] Khan A and Rapal N 2006 Fuzzy PID controller: Design, tuning and comparison with
conventional PID controller,” IEEE Int. Conf. Eng. Intell. Syst. ICEIS 1 4244-0457.
[8] Maddalena S, Nicola G, Francesco D N and Nicola C 2020 Joint Trajectory and Fatigue
Analysis in Wheelchair Users International Conference on Computer Vision Workshop 27-28
Oct. 2019
[9] Huang Y 2010 Wheelchair Control Based on Bioimpedance International Journal of Applied
Biomedical Engineering 3 13-15.
[10] Tsunami, D 2005 Variable Frequency Bioimpedance Instrumentation Proceedings of the 26th
Annual International Conference of the IEEE EMBS, San Francisco, CA, USA September 1-5
[11] Philipe M, Christian F, Xavier D, Maurice D, Fabien D, and Jean M N 2017 Morphological
Anatomy of the Trapezius Muscle, about 58 Dissections: What to Know before Harvesting the
Muscular Flap MOJ Anatomy & Physiology 4 Issue 4
[12] Taguchi H and Araki M 2000 Two Degree of Freedom PID controllers Proceedings of the
IFAC Workshop on Digital Control: Past, Present and Future of PID Control 91–96.
[13] IEEE, IEEE Citation Reference, [Online]. Available:
www.ieee.org/documents/ieeecitationref.pdf.
[14] Kazuo T and Michio S 1992 Stability analysis and design of fuzzy control Fuzzy Sets and
Systems 45 135-156.
[15] Hirokazu S, Atsushi K 2011 Disturbance road adaptive driving control of power-assisted
wheelchair using fuzzy inference Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering
in Medicine and Biology Society 30 Aug.-3 Sept. 2011
[16] US Access Board 2004 Ramps and Curb Ramps Americans with Disabilities Act Standards
Washington DC.
[17] Huang Y, Pornchai P, Booncharoen W and Sawit T 2009 Development of a Bioimpedance-
Based Human Machine Interface for Wheelchair Control 6th International Conference on
Electrical Engineering/Electronics, Computer, Telecommunications and Information
Technology 6-9 May 2009
[18] Barbara S, Zbigniew S, Dawid R, Aleksander S and Paweł K 2017 Bioimpedance
Spectroscopy Monitoring — Designing Challenges and Description of the Acquired Results
24th International Conference Mixed Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems 22-24 June
2017
[19] Zhihong T and Wenhui X 2009 Electric Wheelchair Controller Based on Parameter Self-
Adjusting Fuzzy PID International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Natural
Computing 6-7 June 2009.
[20] Rudi H, Arista A, Yunafi'atul A and Farida H T 2017 The Electric Wheelchair Control Using
Electromyography Sensor of Arm Muscle International Conference on Information &
Communication Technology and Systems (ICTS) 12-12 Oct. 2016