A Low-cost and Light-weight Motion Tracking Suit

A Low-cost and Light-weight Motion Tracking Suit
Sarvenaz Salehi Mourkani, Gabriele Bleser, Norbert Schmitz, Didier Stricker
IEEE International Conference on Ubiquitous Intelligence and Computing International Conference on Ubiquitous Intelligence and Computing (UIC-2013), December 18-20, Vietri sul Mare, Italy

Abstract:

This work presents the design and implementation of a low-cost motion tracker system including a network of wired microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) based Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) which fits into a suit for feasible capturing of human body motions. Using miniaturized IMUs and textile cables, the system is designed to be light-weight and easy to use providing maximal movement flexibility for the user. In order to make a long-term data capturing possible a low-power micro computer is deployed and a new data acquisition approach from multiple sensors is proposed which reduces the CPU load and the wiring complexity. While the complete system including hardware, software and methods for calibration and motion estimation is described, the contribution is mainly in the development of the sensory suit and data acquisition methods providing a novel low-cost, energy-efficient and convenient capturing platform for diverse applications.