scholarly journals Metrological Evaluation of Human–Robot Collaborative Environments Based on Optical Motion Capture Systems

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 3748
Author(s):  
Leticia González ◽  
Juan C. Álvarez ◽  
Antonio M. López ◽  
Diego Álvarez

In the context of human–robot collaborative shared environments, there has been an increase in the use of optical motion capture (OMC) systems for human motion tracking. The accuracy and precision of OMC technology need to be assessed in order to ensure safe human–robot interactions, but the accuracy specifications provided by manufacturers are easily influenced by various factors affecting the measurements. This article describes a new methodology for the metrological evaluation of a human–robot collaborative environment based on optical motion capture (OMC) systems. Inspired by the ASTM E3064 test guide, and taking advantage of an existing industrial robot in the production cell, the system is evaluated for mean error, error spread, and repeatability. A detailed statistical study of the error distribution across the capture area is carried out, supported by a Mann–Whitney U-test for median comparisons. Based on the results, optimal capture areas for the use of the capture system are suggested. The results of the proposed method show that the metrological characteristics obtained are compatible and comparable in quality to other methods that do not require the intervention of an industrial robot.

1999 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Molet ◽  
Ronan Boulic ◽  
Daniel Thalmann

Motion-capture techniques are rarely based on orientation measurements for two main reasons: (1) optical motion-capture systems are designed for tracking object position rather than their orientation (which can be deduced from several trackers), (2) known animation techniques, like inverse kinematics or geometric algorithms, require position targets constantly, but orientation inputs only occasionally. We propose a complete human motion-capture technique based essentially on orientation measurements. The position measurement is used only for recovering the global position of the performer. This method allows fast tracking of human gestures for interactive applications as well as high rate recording. Several motion-capture optimizations, including the multijoint technique, improve the posture realism. This work is well suited for magnetic-based systems that rely more on orientation registration (in our environment) than position measurements that necessitate difficult system calibration.


Diagnostics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 426
Author(s):  
I. Concepción Aranda-Valera ◽  
Antonio Cuesta-Vargas ◽  
Juan L. Garrido-Castro ◽  
Philip V. Gardiner ◽  
Clementina López-Medina ◽  
...  

Portable inertial measurement units (IMUs) are beginning to be used in human motion analysis. These devices can be useful for the evaluation of spinal mobility in individuals with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). The objectives of this study were to assess (a) concurrent criterion validity in individuals with axSpA by comparing spinal mobility measured by an IMU sensor-based system vs. optical motion capture as the reference standard; (b) discriminant validity comparing mobility with healthy volunteers; (c) construct validity by comparing mobility results with relevant outcome measures. A total of 70 participants with axSpA and 20 healthy controls were included. Individuals with axSpA completed function and activity questionnaires, and their mobility was measured using conventional metrology for axSpA, an optical motion capture system, and an IMU sensor-based system. The UCOASMI, a metrology index based on measures obtained by motion capture, and the IUCOASMI, the same index using IMU measures, were also calculated. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted to show the relationships between outcome measures. There was excellent agreement (ICC > 0.90) between both systems and a significant correlation between the IUCOASMI and conventional metrology (r = 0.91), activity (r = 0.40), function (r = 0.62), quality of life (r = 0.55) and structural change (r = 0.76). This study demonstrates the validity of an IMU system to evaluate spinal mobility in axSpA. These systems are more feasible than optical motion capture systems, and they could be useful in clinical practice.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 506-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsubasa Maruyama ◽  
Mitsunori Tada ◽  
Haruki Toda ◽  
◽  

The measurement of human motion is an important aspect of ergonomic mobility design, in which the mobility product is evaluated based on human factors obtained by digital human (DH) technologies. The optical motion-capture (MoCap) system has been widely used for measuring human motion in laboratories. However, it is generally difficult to measure human motion using mobility products in real-world scenarios, e.g., riding a bicycle on an outdoor slope, owing to unstable lighting conditions and camera arrangements. On the other hand, the inertial-measurement-unit (IMU)-based MoCap system does not require any optical devices, providing the potential for measuring riding motion even in outdoor environments. However, in general, the estimated motion is not necessarily accurate as there are many errors due to the nature of the IMU itself, such as drift and calibration errors. Thus, it is infeasible to apply the IMU-based system to riding motion estimation. In this study, we develop a new riding MoCap system using IMUs. The proposed system estimates product and human riding motions by combining the IMU orientation with contact constraints between the product and DH, e.g., DH hands in contact with handles. The proposed system is demonstrated with a bicycle ergometer, including the handles, seat, backrest, and foot pedals, as in general mobility products. The proposed system is further validated by comparing the estimated joint angles and positions with those of the optical MoCap for three different subjects. The experiment reveals both the effectiveness and limitations of the proposed system. It is confirmed that the proposed system improves the joint position estimation accuracy compared with a system using only IMUs. The angle estimation accuracy is also improved for near joints. However, it is observed that the angle accuracy decreases for a few joints. This is explained by the fact that the proposed system modifies the orientations of all body segments to satisfy the contact constraints, even if the orientations of a few joints are correct. This further confirms that the elapsed time using the proposed system is sufficient for real-time application.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Szczęsna ◽  
Monika Błaszczyszyn ◽  
Magdalena Pawlyta

AbstractHuman motion capture is commonly used in various fields, including sport, to analyze, understand, and synthesize kinematic and kinetic data. Specialized computer vision and marker-based optical motion capture techniques constitute the gold-standard for accurate and robust human motion capture. The dataset presented consists of recordings of 37 Kyokushin karate athletes of different ages (children, young people, and adults) and skill levels (from 4th dan to 9th kyu) executing the following techniques: reverse lunge punch (Gyaku-Zuki), front kick (Mae-Geri), roundhouse kick (Mawashi-Geri), and spinning back kick (Ushiro-Mawashi-Geri). Each technique was performed approximately three times per recording (i.e., to create a single data file), and under three conditions where participants kicked or punched (i) in the air, (ii) a training shield, or (iii) an opponent. Each participant undertook a minimum of two trials per condition. The data presented was captured using a Vicon optical motion capture system with Plug-In Gait software. Three dimensional trajectories of 39 reflective markers were recorded. The resultant dataset contains a total of 1,411 recordings, with 3,229 single kicks and punches. The recordings are available in C3D file format. The dataset provides the opportunity for kinematic analysis of different combat sport techniques in attacking and defensive situations.


2012 ◽  
Vol 198-199 ◽  
pp. 1062-1066
Author(s):  
Xu Dong Wu ◽  
Hu Liu ◽  
Song Mo ◽  
Zhe Wu ◽  
Ying Li

Maintainability is a main design attribute of a civil airplane. So evaluation to the maintainability is very important for the design of the civil aircraft. The Human motion capture is a promising technique for maintainability evaluation. In this article, a method about the maintainability evaluation based on the optical motion capture system was presented. Then a test case was developed to demonstrate the feasibility of the method. The test case mainly focused on the accessibility of the civil aircraft.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Slade ◽  
Ayman Habib ◽  
Jennifer L. Hicks ◽  
Scott L. Delp

AbstractAnalyzing human motion is essential for diagnosing movement disorders and guiding rehabilitation interventions for conditions such as osteoarthritis, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease. Optical motion capture systems are the current standard for estimating kinematics but require expensive equipment located in a predefined space. While wearable sensor systems can estimate kinematics in any environment, existing systems are generally less accurate than optical motion capture. Further, many wearable sensor systems require a computer in close proximity and rely on proprietary software, making it difficult for researchers to reproduce experimental findings. Here, we present OpenSenseRT, an open-source and wearable system that estimates upper and lower extremity kinematics in real time by using inertial measurement units and a portable microcontroller. We compared the OpenSenseRT system to optical motion capture and found an average RMSE of 4.4 degrees across 5 lower-limb joint angles during three minutes of walking (n = 5) and an average RMSE of 5.6 degrees across 8 upper extremity joint angles during a Fugl-Meyer task (n = 5). The open-source software and hardware are scalable, tracking between 1 and 14 body segments, with one sensor per segment. Kinematics are estimated in real-time using a musculoskeletal model and inverse kinematics solver. The computation frequency, depends on the number of tracked segments, but is sufficient for real-time measurement for many tasks of interest; for example, the system can track up to 7 segments at 30 Hz in real-time. The system uses off-the-shelf parts costing approximately $100 USD plus $20 for each tracked segment. The OpenSenseRT system is accurate, low-cost, and simple to replicate, enabling movement analysis in labs, clinics, homes, and free-living settings.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (20) ◽  
pp. 6858
Author(s):  
Jaime Hislop ◽  
Mats Isaksson ◽  
John McCormick ◽  
Chris Hensman

Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) are beneficial for motion tracking as, in contrast to most optical motion capture systems, IMU systems do not require a dedicated lab. However, IMUs are affected by electromagnetic noise and may exhibit drift over time; it is therefore common practice to compare their performance to another system of high accuracy before use. The 3-Space IMUs have only been validated in two previous studies with limited testing protocols. This study utilized an IRB 2600 industrial robot to evaluate the performance of the IMUs for the three sensor fusion methods provided in the 3-Space software. Testing consisted of programmed motion sequences including 360° rotations and linear translations of 800 mm in opposite directions for each axis at three different velocities, as well as static trials. The magnetometer was disabled to assess the accuracy of the IMUs in an environment containing electromagnetic noise. The Root-Mean-Square Error (RMSE) of the sensor orientation ranged between 0.2° and 12.5° across trials; average drift was 0.4°. The performance of the three filters was determined to be comparable. This study demonstrates that the 3-Space sensors may be utilized in an environment containing metal or electromagnetic noise with a RMSE below 10° in most cases.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0253157
Author(s):  
Saeed Ghorbani ◽  
Kimia Mahdaviani ◽  
Anne Thaler ◽  
Konrad Kording ◽  
Douglas James Cook ◽  
...  

Large high-quality datasets of human body shape and kinematics lay the foundation for modelling and simulation approaches in computer vision, computer graphics, and biomechanics. Creating datasets that combine naturalistic recordings with high-accuracy data about ground truth body shape and pose is challenging because different motion recording systems are either optimized for one or the other. We address this issue in our dataset by using different hardware systems to record partially overlapping information and synchronized data that lend themselves to transfer learning. This multimodal dataset contains 9 hours of optical motion capture data, 17 hours of video data from 4 different points of view recorded by stationary and hand-held cameras, and 6.6 hours of inertial measurement units data recorded from 60 female and 30 male actors performing a collection of 21 everyday actions and sports movements. The processed motion capture data is also available as realistic 3D human meshes. We anticipate use of this dataset for research on human pose estimation, action recognition, motion modelling, gait analysis, and body shape reconstruction.


Author(s):  
Sajeev C. Puthenveetil ◽  
Chinmay P. Daphalapurkar ◽  
Wenjuan Zhu ◽  
Ming C. Leu ◽  
Xiaoqing F. Liu ◽  
...  

To generate graphic simulation of human motion, marker-based optical motion capture technology is widely used because of the accuracy and reliability of motion data provided by this technology. However, tracking of human motion without markers is very desirable on the factory floor because the human operator does not need to wear a special suit mounted with markers and there is no physical interference with the manufacturing or assembly operation during the motion tracking. In this paper, we compare marker-based and marker-less motion capture systems. First, the operational principles of these two different types of systems are compared. Then the quality of motion data obtained by a marker-less system using Kinect is compared with that obtained by a marker-based system using Optitrack cameras. The comparison also includes the accuracy of body joint angles and variations in body segment lengths measured by the two different systems. Furthermore, we compare the human motion simulation developed in the Jack digital human modeling software using the data captured by these two systems when a person is performing a fastening operation on a physical mockup of the belly section of an aircraft fuselage.


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