A safe, ergonomic, detachable hand-controlled mechanism that allows full coordinated actuation of accelerator, brake, and clutch of a manual transmission vehicle, by just one hand without any -leg input from the driver.
The link to the entire project documentation can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1yCBKF8AlgQBI2DMjDMtDypXGuZh936om?usp=sharing
The standard structure of a manual transmission vehicle consists of the driver-operated accelerator, brake and clutch that are engaged or disengaged with the aid of foot pedal. In the case of specially abled people, it is not possible for them to drive a manual transmission vehicle as some of them may be physically born-handicapped, victims of several accidents like an injury in factories, bus or train accidents, warfare, bomb-explosions, loss of limbs due to diseases such as polio, etc. This project aims to develop a detachable hand control interface to assist the specially abled people to effectively drive a manual transmission vehicle and provide with necessary assistive systems for effective maneuvering. The interface operates such that the base frame remains fixed centrally on the floor of the vehicle which is fastened adequately. The brake pedal and the accelerator pedal are respectively operated by pushing and pulling an operating rod by hand. The clutch is actuated by a rock lever provided with a locking mechanism. The project also facilitates responsive gear shift assist encompassing a mechanism mounted to the gear lever controlled by push buttons on the steering wheel and assistive systems to aid people disabled due to hearing inability. The team conducts research in several areas and performs several design iterations which lead to the design of minimally invasive hand control interface with good driver ergonomics.
