IMU SYSTEM FOR ASSESSING HEAD AND TORSO ORIENTATION DURING PHYSICAL MOTION

摘要

A method and apparatus for monitoring the head and torso orientation of a subject during physical motion. The method and apparatus employ at least two inertial measurement units (IMUs) being temporally synchronized with each other and each measuring three degrees of freedom of angular velocity, acceleration, and optionally magnetic field. A first IMU being affixed to the head of the subject and the second IMU being affixed to the torso of the subject. The orientation of the head, the orientation of the torso, and optionally the relative orientation of the head and torso are calculated based on the data from the IMU's and optionally magnetometer data. The resultant output data is transmitted to a host device (computer, tablet, smart phone) and can be used for monitoring, training, coaching, worker safety and health, and/or rehabilitation.

主权项

1. An apparatus for monitoring the head and torso orientation of a subject during physical motion, said apparatus comprising:
at least two inertial measurement units each measuring three degrees of freedom of angular velocity and three degrees of freedom of acceleration and outputting acceleration data and angular rate gyro data, a first of the at least two inertial measurement units being temporally synchronized with a second of the at least two inertial measurement units such that the acceleration data and angular rate gyro data from the first inertial measurement unit and the second inertial measurement unit are temporally synchronized; a first mounting system supporting the first inertial measurement unit for movement therewith, the first mounting system being connectable to the head of the subject such that the data from the first inertial measurement unit is used to calculate the orientation of the head of the subject; a second mounting system supporting the second inertial measurement unit for movement therewith, the second mounting system being connectable to the torso of the subject such that the data from the second inertial measurement unit is used to calculate the orientation of the torso of the subject; a central processing unit for receiving the acceleration data and the angular rate gyro data from the first and second inertial measurement units, the central processing unit calculating the orientation of the head and the orientation of the torso in response to the acceleration data and the angular rate gyro data from the first and second inertial measurement units and outputting resultant data; and a host device receiving the resultant data and outputting a response to a user indicative of the head and torso orientation of the subject.