Real Time Body Motion Capture and Posture Correction

In modern digital age our lifestyle has become sedentary. Our excessive interaction with the screens in the form of computers, smartphones and TV for work, communication or leisure means we spent nearly 85% of our day sitting with slouched backs, bent necks and twisted body.This lifestyle has devast

Project Title

Real Time Body Motion Capture and Posture Correction

Project Area of Specialization

Wearables and Implantable

Project Summary

In modern digital age our lifestyle has become sedentary. Our excessive interaction with the screens in the form of computers, smartphones and TV for work, communication or leisure means we spent nearly 85% of our day sitting with slouched backs, bent necks and twisted body.This lifestyle has devastating health effects ranging from chronic pains to increased risk of heart diseases and diabetes. We sit as we feel comfortable without the regard to correct posture. Incorrect posture is a problem that becomes increasingly wide-spread in today’s world. It can lead to short and long term pain in the back and neck areas, and has further been linked to depression.

Therefore, to correct ones posture and avoid the aforementioned risks, a correct sitting and standing position has to be established. Wearable technology can be a means to achieve this aim by constantly measuring the wearer’s body posture and giving feedback on  incorrect posture. That is the main objective of this project to establish a smart non-invasive wearable device that detects the incorrect posture of the user and provide real time feedback.

Project Objectives

Objective of this project is to develop a compact wireless wearable device which detects the motion of the body part it is attached to and on the basis of it detect wrong posture and provide a real-time feedback to the wearer to correct his posture. Accompanying this device is an Android and a Desktop App that records all the collected data and displays it in a user friendly and meaningful way. Due to the chosen technical approach for solution, we want to explore the possibility of interfacing multiple modules with each other and capturing real time body motion for various applications.

Project Implementation Method

After examining number of alternate methods, our chosen approach includes use of IMU(Inertial Measurement Unit) interfaced with Arduino from which after acquiring raw accelerometer and gyroscope data, it is converted into angles using trigonometry and calculus techniques and smoothed out using a complimentary filter. The device is attached to a flex point (point in a body where change is produced when posture is changed), then the measured angles are used to detect wrong posture and generate a vibrational feedback through a motor.

Multiple modules are used for motion capture which transmit data to a central node over radio using nrf module and central node time stamps the data and stores it in SD card and transmits the relevant data over Bluetooth to the end systems that are Windows PC or Android phone, where it is visualized. 

Benefits of the Project

This project address a major health and well being problem that is embedded deep within today's lifestyle. Traditional approaches like posture correction vests have failed to solve the problem due to aesthetics, comfortability, versatility among different users and lack of information provided. This project addresses all these issues. User will get a real time feedback of the wrong posture and will correct it which will change his habit and train his muscles to be in correct posture instead of forcing him into right posture, moreover detailed statistics will be provided to the user through which he can track his progress and see the improvement. 

Body motion capture through IMU provides a new direction in this field as it is traditionally done through image processing which is both hardware and computationally expensive. So achieving a close performance to present techniques could be a major breakthrough. 

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

GY-521 IMU module is used which provides 6DOF and data acquisition frequency of up to 8kHz. Arduino Nano is chosen for microcontroller. Nordic Radio Frequency (NRF) transceiver is used for wireless data transmission between nodes providing transmission speed up to 2Mbps. 10mm coin vibration motor is used for providing feedback. XL6009 boost converter is used which has above 93% power efficiency. TP4056 charging module is used providing over charge protection. A 1500mAh Li-ion battery is used to power the device. HC-05 Bluetooth module connects the device to end systems. Windows App is developed using WPF and smartphone app is developed on Android.

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Type of Industry

Health

Technologies

Wearables and Implantables

Sustainable Development Goals

Good Health and Well-Being for People

Required Resources

If you need this project, please contact me on contact@adikhanofficial.com