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To enable power wheelchair users with limited mobility to safely and independently charge their wheelchairs. Stakeholders of multiple roles – including potential users, their caregivers, and clinicians with specifically relevant expertise – were engaged in a user-centred design process. Initial informal interviews, focus groups, online surveys, prototype demonstrations, semi-structured interviews, and expert reviews were utilized to guide development and iteratively evaluate prototypes. The resulting wireless charging system enables independent charging while also significantly increasing capacity and charging speed. Autonomous positioning and remote control features further address the particular use cases of the target population, and vital features of existing power wheelchairs are retained according to stakeholder input. Pertinent topics emerging from stakeholder input are discussed. Careful application of user-centred design principles is essential to the successful development of usable assistive technology devices, particularly for target populations with complex disabilities. The diverse perspectives of all relevant stakeholders must be considered and synthesized to produce a practical and usable solution. Battery charge is a constant and critical concern for power wheelchair users. Many power wheelchair users cannot independently use and monitor existing chargers. A wireless wheelchair charging system was developed to alleviate this issue. Sustained user engagement is crucial in the effective development of such assistive technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent expansion of emerging wireless power transfer technology has not been followed by an adequate systematic approach to the magnetic couplers design. The relation between design parameters (mutual inductance, coupling coefficient, leakage field flux density, coil quality factor, and so on) and structural parameters (coils and ferrite shape, size, thickness, and so on) has not been thoroughly explored, and practical designs often depend on trial-and-error methods supported by the finite-element modeling simulation to verify a final design. In order to fill that gap, this paper describes the adoption of multi-objective hybrid particle swarm optimization (MOHPSO) and multi-objective real-numbered particle swarm optimization (MORPSO) algorithms for a circular coupler design to increase performances and automate the design process. Objectives of this paper are threefold: 1) apply MOHPSO and investigate if there are some unconventional structures of circular couplers capable of outperforming traditional designs; 2) identify a minimum set of key optimization parameters for a circular magnetic coupler; and 3) demonstrate the operation of an MORPSO algorithm to optimize a circular magnetic coupler. The Pareto front concept is applied to provide multi-objective optimization. Two different multi-objective function pairs are considered, the first pair being the coil coupling coefficient ( k ) and maximum leakage field magnetic flux density ( B\max ); for the second pair, the product between quality factor ( Q ) and k is combined with ( B\max ). To validate the optimization algorithm effectiveness and accuracy, a selected magnetic coupler is fabricated and tested. Due to superior execution time, and satisfactory optimization capabilities, the MORPSO algorithm is employed to generate a final optimum design. Collected measurements demonstrate a very good agreement between the experimental and simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]