Sensing power transfer between the human body and the environment

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Sensor Technology

Background:

• Estimating power transfer and work is crucial for optimizing human-environment physical interactions in sports, labor, and rehabilitation.
• Current methods often require complex environmental measurement systems, limiting practical application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a concept for estimating human-environment power transfer during free motions using only interface sensors.
• To experimentally validate the proposed estimation principle.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a 6 DOF force/moment sensor and body-mounted 3-D accelerometers/angular velocity sensors.
• Estimated orientation and velocity in global coordinates, integrating sensor data with gravitational acceleration.
• Calculated power as the sum of velocity-force and angular velocity-moment inner products; work was integrated power.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated accurate estimation of performed work within 4% of potential energy difference for varied movements and loads.
• Validated the principle using mass and spring loads moved by hand over a fixed height.

Conclusions:

• The developed concept enables accurate power transfer and work estimation using body-mounted sensors.
• This principle is applicable to future human-environment interfaces in diverse fields like sports and rehabilitation.