TY - GEN
T1 - An Outsole-Embedded Optoelectronic Sensor to Measure Shear Ground Reaction Forces during Locomotion
AU - Duong, Ton T.H.
AU - Whittaker, David R.
AU - Zanotto, Damiano
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 IEEE.
PY - 2020/5
Y1 - 2020/5
N2 - Online estimation of 3D ground reaction forces (GRFs) is becoming increasingly important for closed-loop control of lower-extremity robotic exoskeletons. Through in-verse dynamics and optimization models, 3D GRFs can be used to estimate net joint torques and approximate muscle forces. Although instrumented footwear to measure vertical GRFs in out-of-the-lab environments is available, accurately measuring shear GRFs with foot-mounted sensors still remains a challenging task.In this paper, a new outsole-embedded optoelectronic sensor configuration that is able to measure biaxial shear GRFs is proposed. Compared with traditional strain-gauge based solutions, optoelectronic sensors allow for a more affordable design. To mitigate the risk of altering the wearer's natural gait, the proposed solution does not involve external modifications to the footwear structure. A preliminary validation of the outsole-embedded sensor was conducted against validated laboratory equipment. The test involved two sessions of treadmill walking at different speeds. Experimental results suggest that the proposed design may be a promising solution for measuring shear GRFs in unconstrained environments.
AB - Online estimation of 3D ground reaction forces (GRFs) is becoming increasingly important for closed-loop control of lower-extremity robotic exoskeletons. Through in-verse dynamics and optimization models, 3D GRFs can be used to estimate net joint torques and approximate muscle forces. Although instrumented footwear to measure vertical GRFs in out-of-the-lab environments is available, accurately measuring shear GRFs with foot-mounted sensors still remains a challenging task.In this paper, a new outsole-embedded optoelectronic sensor configuration that is able to measure biaxial shear GRFs is proposed. Compared with traditional strain-gauge based solutions, optoelectronic sensors allow for a more affordable design. To mitigate the risk of altering the wearer's natural gait, the proposed solution does not involve external modifications to the footwear structure. A preliminary validation of the outsole-embedded sensor was conducted against validated laboratory equipment. The test involved two sessions of treadmill walking at different speeds. Experimental results suggest that the proposed design may be a promising solution for measuring shear GRFs in unconstrained environments.
KW - instrumented footwear
KW - optoelectronics
KW - shear force sensor
KW - wearable technology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85092740771&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85092740771&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/ICRA40945.2020.9196962
DO - 10.1109/ICRA40945.2020.9196962
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85092740771
T3 - Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
SP - 9086
EP - 9092
BT - 2020 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, ICRA 2020
T2 - 2020 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, ICRA 2020
Y2 - 31 May 2020 through 31 August 2020
ER -