User Involvement in Robotic Wheelchair Development: A Decade of Limited Progress

2026-03-27

AI Summary

This study addresses the persistently low real-world adoption of robotic wheelchairs, attributing it to the severe underrepresentation of end users throughout the research and development process. Through a narrative literature review, the authors systematically evaluate the extent and quality of user involvement in defining requirements, co-designing solutions, and assessing outcomes in studies published between 2015 and 2025. Grounded in principles of user-centered, participatory, and inclusive design, this work presents the first quantitative and critical analysis of user engagement practices over the past decade. Findings reveal that only 6% of reviewed papers meet verifiable criteria for meaningful user participation, with prevalent issues including small sample sizes, reliance on proxy users, validation confined to laboratory settings, and absence of standardized feedback mechanisms. These shortcomings underscore a significant disconnect between engineering-driven approaches and authentic user needs, highlighting an urgent need for systemic reform.

Abstract

Robotic wheelchairs (RWs) offer significant potential to enhance autonomy and participation for people with mobility impairments, yet many systems have failed to achieve sustained real-world adoption. This narrative literature review examined the extent and quality of end-user involvement in RW design, development, and evaluation over the past decade (2015--2025), assessed against core principles shared by major user-involvement approaches (e.g., user-/human-centered design, participatory/co-design, and inclusive design). The findings indicate that user involvement remains limited and is predominantly concentrated in late-stage evaluation rather than in early requirements definition or iterative co-design. Of the 399 records screened, only 23 studies (about 6%) met the inclusion criteria of verifiable end-user involvement, and many relied on small samples, often around ten participants, with limited justification for sample size selection, proxy users, laboratory-based validation, and non-standardized feedback methods. Research teams were largely engineering-dominated (about 89%) and geographically concentrated in high-income countries. Despite strong evidence that sustained user engagement improves usability and adoption in assistive technology, its systematic implementation in RW research remains rare. Advancing the field requires embedding participatory methodologies throughout the design lifecycle and addressing systemic barriers that constrain meaningful user involvement.

Problem

• robotic wheelchairs
• user involvement
• assistive technology
• human-centered design
• participatory design

Innovation

• user involvement
• robotic wheelchair
• participatory design
• human-centered design
• assistive technology