Battery-Powered Wheelchair PC

[fy8d6jhegk]

Budget/Location: $1000 USD Maximum. Washington, United States

 

Aim: The goal of this build is to have a portable battery-powered PC that I can mount to my electric wheelchair. I have built a normal PC before but I can't help but feel like I am oversimplifying this build and I am worried about making mistakes that could damage the PC or battery.

 

My main goal is to make this safe/durable and reliable. I plan on running this entirely off of a high-capacity battery. I want to try to get this thing to be able to run for at least eight hours with intermittent use. The PC will be mainly controlled using a microphone with Dragon Naturally Speaking 15. I will also be making a custom Arduino controller as a backup with mouse control and a couple extra buttons. The most intensive thing this will need to run is the Dragon NaturallySpeaking software and Firefox (a major RAM hog). I am not dead set on any of the listed hardware if people have better ideas for what I can use in its place. Here is what I have so far on PCPartPicker.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/matt0753/saved/B7nyXL

 

Monitor: I will only be running one portable monitor on the system. I'm trying to keep it as high resolution as I can, while sticking to a 10 inch profile. Right now my top pick is a portable gaming monitor from EleDuino.

 

Peripherals: This is probably the most complex part of the build. I want this PC to be able to run natively off of the DC power from the battery so I can't use a typical AC to DC power supply. I will be using a bone conducting module built into my wheelchair headrest as a speaker and a cheap microphone will be installed there as well (for voice control). As a backup I will be making a simple Arduino USB controller that will provide mouse function as well as five customizable buttons. I will likely have to make a custom PC case to save on money because it will need to have protection from the environment (especially rain). I need 4 USB ports (2 of them need to be 3.0) in order to cover everything I want to plug in. I will be running Windows 10. I plan on doing Internet by tethering from my phone or Wi-Fi if available so I will need a Wi-Fi receiver.

 

 

Why are you upgrading?: I have a severe physical disability that restricts my movement nearly completely. When I am out and about I am unable to use any devices unless someone helps me and I'm trying to figure out a way to be more independent especially when outside of the house.

 

I'd be happy to answer any other questions that were not covered in this post or on my PCPartPicker  list. Thanks for any advice.

[brob]

Why not use a notebook/laptop?

[fy8d6jhegk]

Laptops aren't nearly as customizable or upgradable. I need this to run natively off of DC power. I would still need to ruggedize it anyways if it was a laptop. I intend to eventually make this thing control external functions of the wheelchair using a microcontroller and that is much easier with a PC.

Edited October 14, 2018 by fy8d6jhegk
I forgot the inverter for laptops is on the wire rather than the laptop

[grss1982]

On ‎10‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 8:27 AM, brob said:

Why not use a notebook/laptop?

Was thinking the same thing, since there are a line of laptops that are ruggedized.

 

@OP:

 

Have you considered going with an Intel NUC?

 

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=intel+nuc&FORM=HDRSC2

 

It's kind of a laptop in terms of customization though i.e. RAM upgrades, storage upgrades, etc., etc.

 

Another option you can explore is maybe the Zotac Zbox? https://www.zotac.com/us/product/mini_pcs/overview

 

I just can't see a full blown system being mounted on a wheelchair unless there's some compromise like maybe using SFF system with a power brick of some kind or the above suggestions I made.