Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the shape and attachment position of stretchable textile piezoresistive sensors coated with single-walled carbon nanotubes on their performance in measuring the joint movements of children. The requirements for fabric motion sensors suitable for children are also identified. The child subjects were instructed to wear integrated clothing with sensors of different shapes (rectangular and boat-shaped), attachment positions (at the knee and elbow joints or 4 cm below the joints). The change in voltage caused by the elongation and contraction of the fabric sensors was measured for the flexion-extension motions of the arms and legs at 60°/s (three measurements of 10 repetitions each for the 60° and 90° angles, for a total of 60 repetitions). Their reliability was verified by analyzing the agreement between the fabric motion sensors and attached acceleration sensors. The experimental results showed that the fabric motion sensor that can measure children’s arm and leg motions most effectively is the rectangular-shaped sensor attached 4 cm below the joint. In this study, we developed a textile piezoresistive sensor suitable for measuring the joint motion of children, and analyzed the shape and attachment position of the sensor on clothing suitable for motion sensing. We showed that it is possible to sense joint motions of the human body by using flexible fabric sensors integrated into clothing.
Highlights
A fabric sensor integrated into clothing senses the limb movements and is highly useful for sports monitoring applications, mainly on joint movements
We showed that it is possible to sense joint motions of the human body by using flexible fabric sensors integrated into clothing
To evaluate the reliability of joint movement sensing through the fabric sensor, the consentaneity of the output signals from the acceleration sensor and fabric sensor during limb movement were compared
Summary
A fabric sensor integrated into clothing senses the limb movements and is highly useful for sports monitoring applications, mainly on joint movements. Recent studies have focused on the development of motion sensors using fabrics and flexible materials, but studies on the efficiency of garment-integrated joint motion sensors have been relatively scarce. The motion sensor needs to be integrated to the joint part of the clothing, and an elastic material is applied to the sensor to prevent interference with joint motion. When the fabric sensor is integrated into the garment, the arrangement and structural characteristics of the sensor are expected to affect motion-sensing performance. The conditions under which the garment and sensor integration affect the efficiency of motion sensing need to be studied. A stretchable fabric strain gauge sensor based on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) was developed and integrated into children’s clothing to evaluate the efficiency of motion-sensing performance. In our previous research [1], it was confirmed that the shape and Sensors 2020, 20, 284; doi:10.3390/s20010284 www.mdpi.com/journal/sensors
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