Autonomous navigation has risen to prominence in public discourse in recent years. Pursuits of a self-driving car by notable tech companies, Tesla and Waymo (formerly Google self-driving car project), have brought autonomous navigation to the forefront and inspired much excitement. However, the applications of autonomous navigation are not limited to self-driving cars. A potential and promising application is to modify electric wheelchairs to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities.

Individuals with motor neurodegenerative diseases and spinal cord injuries cannot use conventional wheelchairs, leaving them immobile and stripped of autonomy. An autonomous wheelchair capable of navigation in both mapped and unmapped indoor environments is proposed to restore mobility and autonomy to such individuals. The wheelchair uses various sensor to detect stationary and moving obstacles in real-time, enabling it to safely chart a course to its destination. Several sets of trials are conducted to test the functionally of the proposed system in different mapped and unmapped environments. The proposed system successfully and autonomously navigated to its destination in most trails with no collisions. These results are promising and validate the design, usability, and safety of the proposed system. They show potential of enriching the lives of individuals with disabilities with autonomy and mobility.