Electroencephalogram Controlled Electric Wheelchair

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to create an alternative method to control an electric wheelchair using an electroencephalogram (EEG). The primary goal of this project was for an EEG to collect data and transmit it wirelessly via Bluetooth to a microcontroller on board the wheelchair. This data is then processed and used to control the motor functions of the wheelchair. The EEG headset used in this project was the Unicorn Hybrid Black. This headset has eight data electrodes as well as two reference electrodes. Multiple microcontrollers were analyzed to determine the best fit for this project with the nRF52840 chip on the PCA10056 development kit ultimately being selected. Matlab and Simulink were used to receive and process the signal from the EEG headset. Then the logic to create the signal for the wheelchair motors and emergency brake controls was designed and loaded to the microcontroller onboard the wheelchair. The final system uses the EEG headset to collect data that is processed through a computer and outputs a signal to an Arduino that is connected to one nRF52 microcontroller which then transmits that signal via Bluetooth to the nRF52 microcontroller onboard the wheelchair.