Abstract
In this work, we propose an online method to detect and approximately locate an external load induced on the body of a person interacting with the environment. The method is based on a torque equilibrium condition on the human sagittal plane, which takes into account a reduced-complexity model of the whole-body centre of pressure (CoP) along with the measured one, and the vertical component of the ground reaction forces (vGRFs). The latter is combined with a statistical analysis approach to improve the localisation accuracy, (which is subject to uncertainties) to the extent of the industrial applications we target. The proposed technique eliminates the assumption of known contact position of an external load on the human limbs, allowing a more flexible online body-state tracking. The accuracy of the proposed method is first evaluated via a simulation study in which various contact points on different body postures are considered. Next, experiments on human subjects with three different contact locations applied to the human body are presented, revealing the validity of the proposed methodology. Lastly, its benefit in the estimation of human dynamic states is demonstrated. These results add another layer to the online human ergonomics assessment framework developed in our laboratory, extending it to more realistic and varying interaction conditions.
Highlights
In recent years, an ever-growing number of small- and medium-sized companies are adapting their industrial processes to the demands of the contemporary market with high-mix and low-volume production [1]
The method is based on a torque equilibrium condition on the human sagittal plane, which takes into account a reduced-complexity model of the whole-body centre of pressure (CoP), identified in an off-line phase, along with the measured CoP, and the vertical component of the ground reaction forces
The second objective of this work is to extend the online estimation algorithm we proposed in [16] to account for the overloading torques induced into the human body joints by an external load
Summary
An ever-growing number of small- and medium-sized companies are adapting their industrial processes to the demands of the contemporary market with high-mix and low-volume production [1]. In such processes, human workers have to operate in, and interact with environments which vary continuously and dynamically. The tools to assess human factors in the brand-new industrial background should provide quantitative evaluation and anticipation of the human psycho-physical conditions and delivered effort throughout the working activity This entails the development of modular sensory systems and human kinodynamic states estimation algorithms, which can adapt to the varying tasks involved in the working process and to the ever-changing interactions of humans with the environment.
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