Increasing Accessibility of Electric Vehicles with Joystick Based Drive-By-Wire Model

Abstract

The automotive industry is shifting towards a cleaner alternative: electric vehicles. This change can be utilized to bring about an improvement to the usage accessibility of these vehicles. This paper proposes a way to implement a joystick control in an electric vehicle which can be used to drive the vehicle independently for anyone who has the ability to move and have control over their arms and wrists. The joystick, accessible to the driver, can be used for moving the vehicle in the desired direction. The work proposed here makes use of a drive by wire technology to operate the vehicle. The driving motor is connected to the joystick through a microcontroller. Another motor, which is connected to the steering column through a chain and sprocket, is used to steer the vehicle. This joystick controlled driving ensures that multiple amputees or differently abled people can drive it with ease.