Evaluating Strain Sensor Performance For Motion Analysis

Investigation on the more suitable technologies to register human body movements in 3D space with great spatial accuracy is a very challenging task, because a wide range of applications are concerned, from registration of post-stroke rehabilitation or sports performance, to monitoring of movement of disabled or elderly people, etc. In this paper the possibilities offered by piezoresistive bend sensors applied as wearable devices, integrated on body garments, have been explored. Piezoresistive sensors can be usefully adopted to recover human joint bend angles for body movement tracking. Due to their pliability, sensitivity and cheapness, they could be a valid alternative to movement analysis systems based on optoelectronic devices or inertial electronic sensors. This paper suggests a new approach to model their electrical behavior during bending and extension movements, in order to predict their real-time performance during different kinds of applications.