Wearable Ferroelectret Sensors for Muscle Activity Measurements

Schäfer N, Latsch B, Schaumann S, Graffe S, Mohseni O, Seiler J, Altmann AA, Ben Dali O, Grimmer M, Seyfarth A, Kupnik M, Beckerle P (2024)


Publication Type: Conference contribution

Publication year: 2024

Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.

Conference Proceedings Title: IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Joint Symposium, UFFC-JS 2024 - Proceedings

Event location: Taipei, TWN

ISBN: 9798350371901

DOI: 10.1109/UFFC-JS60046.2024.10793709

Abstract

Wearable sensors for measuring muscle activity and the resulting limb motion are essential for various applications, including motion analysis, human-machine interaction, and control of assistance systems such as exoskeletons. We examine wearable ferroelectret sensors for force myography (FMG), in particular comparing the FMG data to muscle activity measurements obtained by electromyography (EMG). Muscle activity data were acquired from a participant during walking using pairs of FMG and EMG sensors placed on the vastus medialis and biceps femoris muscles. We analyze activation timing, signal variability, and the effect of different walking speeds on signal amplitude. The FMG sensors prove to be effective in capturing activity patterns similar to those obtained by EMG, with mean absolute errors of 6.1% for the vastus medialis and 18.9% for the biceps femoris. Furthermore, the FMG signals are more consistent across strides, exhibiting less than half the stride-to-stride variability. In conclusion, our ferroelectret sensors for FMG have the potential to increase robustness of muscle activity measurements in applications such as motion analysis and control of wearable robots.

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APA:

Schäfer, N., Latsch, B., Schaumann, S., Graffe, S., Mohseni, O., Seiler, J.,... Beckerle, P. (2024). Wearable Ferroelectret Sensors for Muscle Activity Measurements. In IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Joint Symposium, UFFC-JS 2024 - Proceedings. Taipei, TWN: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc..

MLA:

Schäfer, Niklas, et al. "Wearable Ferroelectret Sensors for Muscle Activity Measurements." Proceedings of the 2024 IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Joint Symposium, UFFC-JS 2024, Taipei, TWN Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2024.

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