DocumentCode :
3528844
Title :
Soft wearable motion sensing suit for lower limb biomechanics measurements
Author :
Menguc, Yigit ; Yong-Lae Park ; Martinez-Villalpando, Ernesto ; Aubin, Patrick ; Zisook, Miriam ; Stirling, Leia ; Wood, Robert J. ; Walsh, Conor J.
Author_Institution :
Wyss Inst. for Biologically Inspired Eng., Harvard Univ., Boston, MA, USA
fYear :
2013
fDate :
6-10 May 2013
Firstpage :
5309
Lastpage :
5316
Abstract :
Motion sensing has played an important role in the study of human biomechanics as well as the entertainment industry. Although existing technologies, such as optical or inertial based motion capture systems, have relatively high accuracy in detecting body motions, they still have inherent limitations with regards to mobility and wearability. In this paper, we present a soft motion sensing suit for measuring lower extremity joint motion. The sensing suit prototype includes a pair of elastic tights and three hyperelastic strain sensors. The strain sensors are made of silicone elastomer with embedded microchannels filled with conductive liquid. To form a sensing suit, these sensors are attached at the hip, knee, and ankle areas to measure the joint angles in the sagittal plane. The prototype motion sensing suit has significant potential as an autonomous system that can be worn by individuals during many activities outside the laboratory, from running to rock climbing. In this study we characterize the hyperelastic sensors in isolation to determine their mechanical and electrical responses to strain, and then demonstrate the sensing capability of the integrated suit in comparison with a ground truth optical motion capture system. Using simple calibration techniques, we can accurately track joint angles and gait phase. Our efforts result in a calculated trade off: with a maximum error less than 8%, the sensing suit does not track joints as accurately as optical motion capture, but its wearability means that it is not constrained to use only in a lab.
Keywords :
biomedical measurement; calibration; elastomers; gait analysis; medical robotics; motion measurement; silicones; strain sensors; wearable computers; ankle area; autonomous system; calibration techniques; conductive liquid filled embedded microchannels; elastic tights; electrical responses; entertainment industry; gait phase tracking; hip area; human biomechanics; hyperelastic strain sensors; joint angle measurement; joint angle tracking; knee area; lower-extremity joint motion measurement; lower-limb biomechanics measurements; mechanical responses; prototype motion sensing suit; rock climbing; running; sagittal plane; sensors; silicone elastomer; soft wearable motion sensing suit; Joints; Mechanical sensors; Robot sensing systems; Rubber; Sensor phenomena and characterization; Strain;
fLanguage :
English
Publisher :
ieee
Conference_Titel :
Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2013 IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Karlsruhe
ISSN :
1050-4729
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4673-5641-1
Type :
conf
DOI :
10.1109/ICRA.2013.6631337
Filename :
6631337
Link To Document :
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