IMU-based Optimization Control of a Soft Exosuit for Hip Extension and Flexion Assistance

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Qiang Chen ◽  
Shijie Guo ◽  
Lei Sun ◽  
Qiming Liu ◽  
Shanhai Jin
Keyword(s):  
Inertial Measurement Unit ◽  
Gait Cycle ◽  
Constant Speed ◽  
Measurement Unit ◽  
Optimal Parameters ◽  
Optimization Control ◽  
Outdoor Walking ◽  
Walking Tests ◽  
Hip Extension ◽  
Soft Exosuit

Abstract The optimization of the assistive force for soft exosuits is crucial to the improvement of their assistive efficiency. In this paper, an inertial measurement unit (IMU)-based optimization controller was proposed to provide effective hip extension and flexion assistance for soft hip-assistive exosuits during outdoor walking. Initially, the optimal parameters of the assistive profiles defined by two functions were determined based on an analysis of biological hip power. Secondly, the assistive profiles were optimized in real time based on the detected information of hip angles from two IMUs bound to both thighs. Specifically, the peak and offset timings of the assistive profiles were estimated from the previous gait cycle, while the start and stop timings were estimated using current gait information. Lastly, the experiments including four subjects were scheduled to evaluate the performance of proposed controller. Each subject carried a 15kg load to walk on a treadmill at a constant speed, and two of them completed the outdoor walking tests at a self-determined pace while carried a 15kg load. The results show that the assistive profiles can be reliably and orderly delivered across the subjects. In particular, during outdoor self-paced walking, the wearer's natural gait can be maintained by optimizing the assistive profiles. During walking on a treadmill at a constant speed of 1.53 m/s, metabolic rate wearing the soft exosuit with assistance turned on was reduced by 8.53 ± 2.65% (average ± SEM), compared with wearing the soft exosuit with assistance turned off.

scholarly journals Automatically evaluating balance using machine learning and data from a single inertial measurement unit

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahad Kamran ◽  
Kathryn Harrold ◽  
Jonathan Zwier ◽  
Wendy Carender ◽  
Tian Bao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Inertial Measurement Unit ◽  
Physical Therapists ◽  
Physical Therapist ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Measurement Unit ◽  
Balance Performance ◽  
Inertial Measurement ◽  
Self Assessments

Abstract Background Recently, machine learning techniques have been applied to data collected from inertial measurement units to automatically assess balance, but rely on hand-engineered features. We explore the utility of machine learning to automatically extract important features from inertial measurement unit data for balance assessment. Findings Ten participants with balance concerns performed multiple balance exercises in a laboratory setting while wearing an inertial measurement unit on their lower back. Physical therapists watched video recordings of participants performing the exercises and rated balance on a 5-point scale. We trained machine learning models using different representations of the unprocessed inertial measurement unit data to estimate physical therapist ratings. On a held-out test set, we compared these learned models to one another, to participants’ self-assessments of balance, and to models trained using hand-engineered features. Utilizing the unprocessed kinematic data from the inertial measurement unit provided significant improvements over both self-assessments and models using hand-engineered features (AUROC of 0.806 vs. 0.768, 0.665). Conclusions Unprocessed data from an inertial measurement unit used as input to a machine learning model produced accurate estimates of balance performance. The ability to learn from unprocessed data presents a potentially generalizable approach for assessing balance without the need for labor-intensive feature engineering, while maintaining comparable model performance.

scholarly journals The Accelerations of a Wave Measurement Buoy Impacted by Breaking Waves in the Surf Zone

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 214
Author(s):  
Adam C. Brown ◽  
Robert K. Paasch
Keyword(s):  
Inertial Measurement Unit ◽  
Surf Zone ◽  
Spherical Wave ◽  
Breaking Waves ◽  
Measurement Unit ◽  
High Fidelity ◽  
Wave Measurement ◽  
Near Shore ◽  
Shoaling Waves ◽  
Multiple Deployments

A spherical wave measurement buoy capable of detecting breaking waves has been designed and built. The buoy is 16 inches in diameter and houses a 9 degree of freedom inertial measurement unit (IMU). The orientation and acceleration of the buoy is continuously logged at frequencies up to 200 Hz providing a high fidelity description of the motion of the buoy as it is impacted by breaking waves. The buoy was deployed several times throughout the winter of 2013–2014. Both moored and free-drifting data were acquired in near-shore shoaling waves off the coast of Newport, OR. Almost 200 breaking waves of varying type and intensity were measured over the course of multiple deployments. The characteristic signature of spilling and plunging breakers was identified in the IMU data.

scholarly journals Inertial Measurement Unit Sensors in Assistive Technologies for Visually Impaired People, a Review

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (14) ◽  
pp. 4767
Author(s):  
Karla Miriam Reyes Leiva ◽  
Milagros Jaén-Vargas ◽  
Benito Codina ◽  
José Javier Serrano Olmedo
Keyword(s):  
Inertial Measurement Unit ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Inertial Sensors ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Biomechanical Analysis ◽  
Measurement Unit ◽  
Inertial Measurement ◽  
Visually Impaired People ◽  
Impaired People ◽  
Application Fields

A diverse array of assistive technologies have been developed to help Visually Impaired People (VIP) face many basic daily autonomy challenges. Inertial measurement unit sensors, on the other hand, have been used for navigation, guidance, and localization but especially for full body motion tracking due to their low cost and miniaturization, which have allowed the estimation of kinematic parameters and biomechanical analysis for different field of applications. The aim of this work was to present a comprehensive approach of assistive technologies for VIP that include inertial sensors as input, producing results on the comprehension of technical characteristics of the inertial sensors, the methodologies applied, and their specific role in each developed system. The results show that there are just a few inertial sensor-based systems. However, these sensors provide essential information when combined with optical sensors and radio signals for navigation and special application fields. The discussion includes new avenues of research, missing elements, and usability analysis, since a limitation evidenced in the selected articles is the lack of user-centered designs. Finally, regarding application fields, it has been highlighted that a gap exists in the literature regarding aids for rehabilitation and biomechanical analysis of VIP. Most of the findings are focused on navigation and obstacle detection, and this should be considered for future applications.

scholarly journals Early Detection of Freezing of Gait during Walking Using Inertial Measurement Unit and Plantar Pressure Distribution Data

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 2246
Author(s):  
Scott Pardoel ◽  
Gaurav Shalin ◽  
Julie Nantel ◽  
Edward D. Lemaire ◽  
Jonathan Kofman
Keyword(s):  
Early Detection ◽  
Plantar Pressure ◽  
Inertial Measurement Unit ◽  
Binary Classification ◽  
Freezing Of Gait ◽  
Pressure Sensors ◽  
Measurement Unit ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Inertial Measurement ◽  
Plantar Pressure Distribution

Freezing of gait (FOG) is a sudden and highly disruptive gait dysfunction that appears in mid to late-stage Parkinson’s disease (PD) and can lead to falling and injury. A system that predicts freezing before it occurs or detects freezing immediately after onset would generate an opportunity for FOG prevention or mitigation and thus enhance safe mobility and quality of life. This research used accelerometer, gyroscope, and plantar pressure sensors to extract 861 features from walking data collected from 11 people with FOG. Minimum-redundancy maximum-relevance and Relief-F feature selection were performed prior to training boosted ensembles of decision trees. The binary classification models identified Total-FOG or No FOG states, wherein the Total-FOG class included data windows from 2 s before the FOG onset until the end of the FOG episode. Three feature sets were compared: plantar pressure, inertial measurement unit (IMU), and both plantar pressure and IMU features. The plantar-pressure-only model had the greatest sensitivity and the IMU-only model had the greatest specificity. The best overall model used the combination of plantar pressure and IMU features, achieving 76.4% sensitivity and 86.2% specificity. Next, the Total-FOG class components were evaluated individually (i.e., Pre-FOG windows, Freeze windows, transition windows between Pre-FOG and Freeze). The best model detected windows that contained both Pre-FOG and FOG data with 85.2% sensitivity, which is equivalent to detecting FOG less than 1 s after the freeze began. Windows of FOG data were detected with 93.4% sensitivity. The IMU and plantar pressure feature-based model slightly outperformed models that used data from a single sensor type. The model achieved early detection by identifying the transition from Pre-FOG to FOG while maintaining excellent FOG detection performance (93.4% sensitivity). Therefore, if used as part of an intelligent, real-time FOG identification and cueing system, even if the Pre-FOG state were missed, the model would perform well as a freeze detection and cueing system that could improve the mobility and independence of people with PD during their daily activities.

Accurate 3D Localization Using RGB-TOF Camera and IMU for Industrial Mobile Robots

Robotica ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Majid Yekkehfallah ◽  
Ming Yang ◽  
Zhiao Cai ◽  
Liang Li ◽  
Chuanxiang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Robots ◽  
Inertial Measurement Unit ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Estimation Algorithm ◽  
Measurement Unit ◽  
3D Localization ◽  
Fast Motion ◽  
Tof Camera

SUMMARY Localization based on visual natural landmarks is one of the state-of-the-art localization methods for automated vehicles that is, however, limited in fast motion and low-texture environments, which can lead to failure. This paper proposes an approach to solve these limitations with an extended Kalman filter (EKF) based on a state estimation algorithm that fuses information from a low-cost MEMS Inertial Measurement Unit and a Time-of-Flight camera. We demonstrate our results in an indoor environment. We show that the proposed approach does not require any global reflective landmark for localization and is fast, accurate, and easy to use with mobile robots.

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