By Kefa Senoga
Sekamatte Solomon and Jamugisa Paul, final-year students at Uganda Christian University (UCU), have resolved to make their three years at the university count through an innovation they think will be useful to the Ugandan community. The duo is working on a robotic wheelchair to help people with disabilities to live more independently.

Using an already-made prototype, Sekamatte and Jamugisa have started the process of actualizing their initiative. According to Sekamatte, they chose the idea of a robotic wheelchair because “it solves problems of the everyday person.” The two are students of the Bachelor of Computer Science at UCU.

In Uganda, only two per cent of the 12.4 percent of persons living with some form of disability have access to assistive technology services, such as the conventional power wheelchairs.

“We realised that many people with movement impairments face difficulties with their movement due to the fact that some need attendants to push them in the wheelchairs while others must exert some effort to use the wheelchair,” Sekamatte says.

People whose neuromuscular structures and functions have been affected end up losing independence in the daily personal activities that they perform. As a result, they rely more on other people helping them to get along. However, Sekamatte and Jamugisa want to change, or at least reduce this trend by enabling effective communication between the person and the wheelchair.

The duo says whenever they present the prototype of their idea, many people wonder what makes it unique because similar wheelchairs have already been created and are available on the market.

However, they justify their concept by emphasizing that their goal is to make a low-cost robotic wheelchair. They argue that because the existing models have to be transported over long distances, by the time they get to Uganda, they are quite expensive, making it difficult for an ordinary Ugandan to afford.

To reduce production costs, Jamugisa says they plan to use locally-made materials in Uganda.

“We are planning to import limited things while manufacturing the wheel chair, for example the seat can be made locally, the steel, wheels and mortars can also be got locally,” Jamugisa says.

According to Sekamatte, they intend to use sensors as a safety precaution, aiming to implement obstacle avoidance capabilities in the wheelchair.

“If there is an obstacle like a car in front, the wheel chair should automatically stop moving,” he says.

He adds that they also have plans of adding a Global Positioning System (GPS) so that the wheelchair can be tracked. This is to enable the caretakers to easily monitor the movement of the people living with disabilities such that they can be able to assist in case of an emergency.

According to Jamugisa, the monitoring and control functions will be managed through a smartphone.

“We came up with a mechanism where the wheelchair can be controlled via bluetooth or via a mobile application” Jamugisa says. 

He says they are considering adding a voice recognition application that could allow someone to command the chair using their voice, especially if they cannot use their hands.

“This is a gradual process that moves in phases because whatever you implement, you have to get feedback; if it is not satisfactory, we have to improve,” Jamugisa explains.

Both Sekamatte and Jamugisa have had passions for technology since childhood. Jamugisa shares his long-standing fascination with robotics. He says that when he enrolled for the course at UCU, he discovered that it’s possible to create some of the technology products in people’s daily lives. 

Despite his intense love for technology, Sekamatte says he originally intended to pursue a career in culinary arts because he loves cooking. However, his father convinced him otherwise. Even then, he intends to return to school to learn how to cook some of the continental dishes. 

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