Fast tracking of a given heart rate profile in treadmill exercise

This paper investigates the application of a multi-loop PID controller in an automated treadmill exercise machine. The approach is to design a computer-controlled treadmill control system for the regulation of heart rate (HR) during treadmill exercise. A single-input and multiple-output (SIMO) controller was implemented to fast track a given heart rate profile in treadmill exercise. Two separate single-input and single-output (SISO) PID control systems are initially implemented to modify either the treadmill speed or its angle of inclination in order to achieve a desired HR. The purpose of this paper is to apply a SIMO control system by implementing a control algorithm which includes the two PID controllers working simultaneously to track the desired HR profile. The performance of the SIMO and SISO control systems are compared through the closed loop responses recorded during experimentation. This would also help future development of safe treadmill exercise system.