Neuro-Controlled Wheelchair with Integrated Voice Communication Support

Abstract

Individuals suffering from quadriplegia, spinal cord injuries, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or severe paralysis often retain full cognitive function but lose the ability to control their limbs, making conventional joystick-based wheelchairs unusable for them. This paper proposes a Neuro-Controlled Wheelchair with Integrated Voice Communication Support that uses a non-invasive EEG headset to capture the user's brain signals and translate them into wheelchair movement commands such as forward, backward, left, right, and stop. A microcontroller processes the classified EEG commands and drives the motor unit through a motor driver circuit, while an integrated voice communication module allows the user to select pre-recorded or text-to-speech phrases to convey basic needs to caregivers without relying on manual speech or limb movement. The system is designed as a low-cost, non-invasive, and reproducible assistive device that combines mobility and communication support, offering improved independence compared with existing mobility-only assistive wheelchairs.