Voice Controlled Wheelchair using Embedded System for Assistive Mobility

Abstract

The paper introduces the voice-controlled wheelchair using embedded systems for physically challenged individuals. The design makes use of ESP32 microcontroller, GSM, obstacle detector, and MPU6050 sensors to detect tilting or falling. Voice command is sent wirelessly from the android application to the wheelchair, providing a hand-free operation mode. Microcontroller senses command signals and translates them into various movements such as move forward, backwards, turn left, turn right, and stop. When a sudden tilt or unusual movement is sensed by the sensor, it starts the buzzer alarm along with sending an SMS signal to the mobile phone through GSM. The system also has an obstacle detection feature to ensure the safety of the user when any obstruction is detected by the system.

Introduction

The text describes the development of a Smart Voice-Controlled Wheelchair designed to improve mobility for physically disabled and elderly individuals who cannot effectively use manual or joystick-based wheelchairs.

The system uses voice commands (such as forward, backward, left, right, and stop) sent via a mobile application connected through Bluetooth to an ESP32 microcontroller, which acts as the main control unit. These commands are processed and transmitted to a motor driver (L293D) that controls the wheelchair motors.

To enhance safety, the system integrates multiple sensors and modules:

• An ultrasonic sensor detects obstacles in front of the wheelchair and stops movement if needed to prevent collisions.
• An MPU6050 sensor detects sudden tilting or falls, triggering safety alerts.
• A SIM800L GSM module sends emergency messages to a registered contact in case of an accident or fall.

Additional components include the Arduino IDE for programming and an ATmega328 microcontroller for processing inputs from sensors and controlling motor operations.

References

[1] Arduino, “Arduino Uno Rev3 Datasheet,” Arduino Official Documentation, 2023. [2] Espressif Systems, “ESP32-WROOM Technical Reference Manual,” 2023. [3] M. Sharma and R. Gupta, “Design of Voice Controlled Smart Wheelchair,” International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT), vol. 9, no. 5, 2020. [4] S. Raj and K. Patel, “Bluetooth-Based Assistive Wheelchair System,” International Conference on Intelligent Systems, 2021. [5] H. Kumar et al., “Ultrasonic Sensor-Based Obstacle Detection for Assistive Devices,” Journal of Embedded Systems, 2019. [6] A. Ahmed, “Android-Based Voice Recognition Wheelchair Control,” International Journal of Advanced Electronics, 2022. [7] “Voice Controlled Wheelchair” by M. S. Arsha, A. Remya Raj, S. R. Pooja, Rugma Manoj, International Journal of Research in Engineering, September 2020. [8] “Voice Controlled Wheelchair for Physically Challenged People” BY NAGESH1, GURUNATH2, SHIVKUMAR3, T. VINAY KUMAR4, IRE Journals, 2022. [9] A. Pandey and R. Singh, “Voice Recognition Based Smart Wheelchair System,” International Journal of Computer Applications, vol. 113, no. 9, pp. 20–25, 2015. [10] P. Kumar, S. Sharma, and V. Gupta, “Design of Arduino-Based Smart Wheelchair with Obstacle Detection,” International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications, vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 45–50, 2017.

Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Dr. E. V. Nagalakshmi, S. Renuka, T. Tejaswini, A. Anu. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.