# Systematic Review of Mecanum and Omni Wheel Technologies for Motor Impairments
## 4 Discussion
Future efforts must emphasize human-centered design, ensuring that advanced features genuinely enhance everyday experience through comfortable seating, intuitive controls, and user-informed design choices. Collaboration between engineers, clinicians, and users will be key to achieving this. Validation and real-world testing remain underdeveloped in this field. While some studies included pilot testing in homes or public spaces [50; 52; 53], the majority relied on controlled environments with simplified obstacles. This limits generalizability and risks overlooking key factors such as user fatigue, caregiver support, environmental variability, or unstructured indoor layouts. Although Section 3.6 identifies this gap, its broader implications merit further attention. Devices that function well in standardized lab settings may underperform in real-world scenarios--on uneven terrain, in crowded spaces, or under changing weather conditions--where unpredictability directly affects usability, safety, and adoption. Another limitation is the narrow user base involved in many studies, typically young and able-bodied individuals. This reduces the relevance of findings for elderly users or those with cognitive or motor impairments. Inclusive testing is essential to capture diverse needs and challenges, such as limited dexterity or increased cognitive load. To overcome these shortcomings, future research should implement standardized field testing protocols and participatory evaluation strategies involving real users from early development through post-deployment. Studies like those by [PERSON] et al. [28] and [PERSON] et al. [50] show that combining technical assessment with lived experience yields more actionable insights. Furthermore, aligning specific engineering challenges with their testing methods--for example, verifying traction solutions on real slopes or validating energy efficiency across different user profiles--can improve transparency and guide future design decisions. The lack of unified evaluation frameworks limits cross-study comparisons and benchmarking [55]. Establishing shared criteria and fostering collaboration among engineers, clinicians, and users will be key to refining omnidirectional assistive technologies for real-life use. Only through comprehensive validation--technical and experiential--can these innovations deliver consistent, inclusive, and safe mobility support. More generally, ergonomic and user-centered design considerations have been underexplored in current research. Most prototypes focus on technical performance (maneu-verability, speed, control accuracy) and pay less attention to factors like seating comfort, adjustability, and ease of transfers. Going forward, greater emphasis on human-centered design is needed to ensure that omnidirectional movement and other high-tech features genuinely improve user experience. This means designing seating and support that remain comfortable during lateral movements, ensuring that control interfaces (joystick, gesture sensor, BCIs, etc.) do not cause fatigue or frustration, making the device as approachable as a conventional wheelchair in terms of training and maintenance. Achieving these goals will require close collaboration among engineers, clinicians, and end-users from the earliest design stages. Cost and accessibility considerations are critical for real-world adoption. Although the use of off-the-shelf components, modular architectures, and open-source control systems can reduce initial development costs [43, 48, 51], these strategies are not sufficient on their own. Many prototypes still rely on custom-built frames or expensive sensors, which could limit scalability. Beyond using low-cost parts, several studies advocate for modular architectures, which allow for incremental upgrades and maintenance without requiring a full redesign. This approach enhances cost-efficiency across the product life cycle and facilitates adaptation to individual user needs [48].