Angle Estimation Accuracy Research Articles

Enhancing Automatic Inertial Sensor Calibration Algorithm for Accurate Joint Angle Estimation in High Flexion Postures

Enhancing Automatic Inertial Sensor Calibration Algorithm for Accurate Joint Angle Estimation in High Flexion Postures

Extended Kalman filter-based robust roll angle estimation method for spinning vehicles

Attitude measurement is a basic technique for monitoring vehicle motion states and safety. The spin motion of a vehicle couples the attitude angles with each other, which has an impact on the navigation and control of the vehicle. Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals-based roll angle measurement methods are important for vehicle attitude measurement. Most of existing studies use continuous signal power, but the case of loop lock loss leading to discontinuous power reception has not been considered. A robust estimation method for the roll angle based on the Tukey weight function is proposed to improve the measurement accuracy in cases of discontinuous reception. The characteristics of the GNSS signals, the geometric relationship between the signal power and roll angle of the vehicle are discussed. By installing a GNSS receiver with a single patched antenna on a rotating platform with a controllable rolling speed, the proposed method was verified by experiments. The robust estimation errors of different weight functions are analyzed. According to the characteristics of the gross measurement errors, a robust estimation method of multisatellite power observations is proposed to obtain a high-precision and stable estimation of the vehicle roll angle. The results show that the proposed algorithm can improve the accuracy of roll angle estimation even with gross measurement errors. As a result of the experiments, the estimation errors of the algorithm are 6.57° at a confidence level of 68 % and 15.49°at the confidence level of 95 %. In contrast, they are 11.38° and 37.31° for the traditional LS method. Moreover, the estimation accuracy of the algorithm is not significantly correlated with the vehicle rotational speed. Therefore, the vehicle roll angle can be estimated with high accuracy under a variety of rotational speeds.

Sideslip Angle Fusion Estimation Method of Three-Axis Autonomous Vehicle Based on Composite Model and Adaptive Cubature Kalman Filter

A sideslip angle fusion estimation strategy of three-axis vehicle based on adaptive cubature Kalman filter is investigated in this paper. According to the dynamics model, kinematics model of the three-axis vehicle, and considering the influence of tire nonlinearity, the vehicle state estimators under different conditions are designed by using the adaptive cubature Kalman filter algorithm. The dynamic-model-based estimator with linear tire model, dynamic-model-based estimator with nonlinear tire model, and kinematical-model-based estimator are proposed, then, according to the application characteristics of different estimators, a fusion estimation strategy of vehicle sideslip angle based on adaptive fuzzy weight controllers is designed, so as to improve the overall estimation accuracy by integrating the advantages of the three estimators. The simulation and experimental results show that the presented fusion estimation strategy can effectively improve the estimation accuracy of vehicle sideslip angle, and the comprehensive estimation accuracy reaches 94.37%.

HT-PLL-Based Seamless Transition Strategy for DFIG With Power Quality Enhancement Through Fractional-Order Adaptive Filter

The seamless operational mode transition of doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) driven by wind turbine (WT) is focused here. Moreover, remote geographical allocation of wind farm installations demand power quality (PQ) improvement feature, where the WT becomes a significant contributor to the grid stability. This paper presents a real-time implementation of seamless transition of DFIG based WT with the grid. The seamless transition process is aided by accurate phase angle estimates from a half-tangent (HT) phase locked loop (PLL) technique, which is an improved version of synchronous-reference-frame (SRF) based PLL. The phase detector of SRF-PLL is aided with HT function, which improves the accuracy at steady-state and has faster dynamics under large frequency excursions. For PQ enhancement, an adaptive filter based current control approach is suggested for grid-side converter during grid-feeding operation. The adaptive filter is based on fractional-order gradient-descent total least mean p-norm algorithm. The benefit of this algorithm compared to its parent total least square methods, is its ability to repress impulse noises in the eccentricities of the signal, showing better convergence rate. The proposed control approaches are tested and compared with popular methods in simulation, and an experimental setup validates the satisfactory operation by subjecting through dynamic conditions and load unbalances.

Inertial Measuring System to Evaluate Gait Parameters and Dynamic Alignments for Lower-Limb Amputation Subjects.

The study aims to construct an inertial measuring system for the application of amputee subjects wearing a prosthesis. A new computation scheme to process inertial data by installing seven wireless inertial sensors on the lower limbs was implemented and validated by comparing it with an optical motion capture system. We applied this system to amputees to verify its performance for gait analysis. The gait parameters are evaluated to objectively assess the amputees' prosthesis-wearing status. The Madgwick algorithm was used in the study to correct the angular velocity deviation using acceleration data and convert it to quaternion. Further, the zero-velocity update method was applied to reconstruct patients' walking trajectories. The combination of computed walking trajectory with pelvic and lower limb joint motion enables sketching the details of motion via a stickman that helps visualize and animate the walk and gait of a test subject. Five participants with above-knee (n = 2) and below-knee (n = 3) amputations were recruited for gait analysis. Kinematic parameters were evaluated during a walking test to assess joint alignment and overall gait characteristics. Our findings support the feasibility of employing simple algorithms to achieve accurate and precise joint angle estimation and gait parameters based on wireless inertial sensor data.

Improved Estimation of Elbow Flexion Angle from IMU Measurements Using Anatomical Constraints

ObjectivesInertial Measurement Units (IMUs) are a valid alternative to optical tracking systems for human motion capture, but they are subject to several disturbances that limit their accuracy. We aim to improve the accuracy of elbow joint angle estimation from IMU measurements by introducing a novel postprocessing algorithm that uses anatomical constraints and does not require any prior calibration or knowledge of anthropometric parameters. Materials and MethodsWe propose a new error model that addresses sensor misalignment and fusion errors. We use an error state extended Kalman filter (ESEKF) with state constraints to integrate the anatomical constraints. We validate the proposed algorithm by testing it in different scenarios and comparing it with a state-of-the-art optical tracking system. ResultsThe research results highlight the superior performance of the proposed method compared with existing techniques. The study demonstrates a significant reduction in errors, particularly in complex arm movements and under strong external disturbances. The results obtained in the three different tested scenarios underscore the robustness and effectiveness of the developed algorithm, reaching half the error committed by the existing calibration-free correction algorithms proposed in the literature. ConclusionsThe developed technique provides highly accurate estimates of joint angles in several challenging real-world scenarios.

An improved attitude estimation algorithm for suppressing magnetic vector disturbance based on extended Kalman filter

This paper proposes an improved attitude estimation algorithm based on the extended Kalman filter (EKF), and it is applied to suppress the accuracy reduction in attitude estimation caused by fusing magnetometer data under large angular motion. In the proposed attitude estimation structure, the approximate variance of the estimated horizontal northbound magnetic vector is used to dynamically adjust the participation of magnetometer data in attitude estimation, as the approximate variance increases significantly under large angular motion and fusing magnetometer data will reduce estimation accuracy. A three-axis position-velocity controlled turntable is used to conduct rocking experiments for validating the proposed attitude estimation algorithm. The results show a significant improvement in yaw angle estimation accuracy with the proposed attitude estimation algorithm and correspondingly enhance the distribution of pitch and roll angle errors.

Specific Object Picking Robotic Arm Using Haar Cascades

This project shows a robotic arm that can pick up objects. It was made with accuracy and speed in mind for use in factories. The robotic arm is very good at picking up metal nuts. It uses cutting edge technologies, like Haar cascade to find objects and inverse kinematics to figure out angles very accurately, to make its moves more exact and dexterous. A powerful computer vision method called Haar cascade is used to find metal nuts in the robotic arm's working environment. To do this, positive and negative pictures are used to train a Haar cascade classifier, which makes a model that can recognize the unique traits of metal nuts. The object recognition process makes sure that the nuts are located correctly, which lets the robotic arm deal with them in a controlled and precise way. The robotic arm uses inverse kinematics along with Haar cascading to figure out the exact joint angles needed for smooth, controlled movement. Inverse kinematics is very important for figuring out the joint setups that are needed to place the robotic arm's end-effector exactly on top of the metal nuts that have been found. Haar cascading for finding objects and inverse kinematics for accurate angle estimates work together to make sure that the robotic arm can pick up metal nuts in a variety of space arrangements. This combined system is a high-tech way to automatethe picking of specific items in manufacturing and assembly lines. It shows how industrial automation can be used to improve accuracy, efficiency, and flexibility.

Direction-of-arrival estimation of impulse noise using MUSIC algorithm

Spatial information about the source of sounds can be obtained by measuring amplitude and phase differences among multiple microphones in a microphone array. Various methods have been proposed for estimating the direction of arrival, including beam-forming methods, but generally their spatial spectral resolution degrades with a low-frequency source in the far-field. In architectural acoustics, it is important to obtain high spatial resolution in the low-frequency band, especially in investigations to understand phenomena such as sudden impulse noise. In this paper, direction-of-arrival estimation using the MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) method is discussed. We propose a microphone array structure designed according to the Cramer-Rao lower limit. It is shown that this technique improves the accuracy of elevation angle estimates at low frequencies while maintaining good horizontal angle estimation accuracy. The proposed method was tested in a real building in which impulse noise occurred and its effectiveness in identifying the source direction with high spatial resolution even at low frequencies was confirmed.

Real-Time Attitude Estimation for Spinning Projectiles by Magnetometer Based on an Adaptive Extended Kalman Filter.

The attitude measurement system based on geomagnetic information offers advantages such as small space requirements, fast response times, excellent resistance to high-overload conditions, and cost-effectiveness. However, during the flight process of a high-mobility guided spinning projectile, calculating attitude based on geomagnetic information often leads to non-unique solutions. To address this challenge, this paper proposes the Adaptive Extended Kalman Filter (AEKF) attitude estimation algorithm, based on geomagnetic vector information. Based on the analysis of the short-term attitude motion characteristics of the projectile, the Kalman state system equation and the nonlinear observation equation are established, along with real-time correction of the yaw angle and adaptive updates of parameters. The effectiveness of the algorithm is verified by simulations and experiments, demonstrating its ability to eliminate the dual solution problem inherent in traditional Single-Epoch algorithms. It notably improves the accuracy of pitch and roll angle estimation while providing precise estimates of attitude angular rates. Furthermore, the algorithm effectively mitigates the impact of magnetic disturbances on attitude determination. The proposed method has many potential applications in attitude measurement and navigation using geomagnetic data.

A Deep-Sea Broadband Sound Source Depth Estimation Method Based on the Interference Structure of the Compensated Beam Output

This paper proposes an underwater broadband target depth estimation method based on the multipath arrival structure in medium and short-range deep-sea environments. The proposed approach involves separating the multipath rays arriving at the vertical line array using the matched filtering technique. The combined beamforming is then applied to the vector hydrophone vertical array (VHVA) to obtain more accurate elevation angle estimates. The components of the interference sound field at different distances are judged, and the signal received by the array is compensated using suitable estimated angles. Finally, the multipath time delay difference is extracted from the pulse peaks of the compensated signal, and the target depth is estimated by establishing the relationship among the multipath time delay difference, the elevation angle and depth. Simulations and experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of this method in reducing the depth estimation bias and avoiding the misjudgment of surface or submerged targets.

An Improved Two-Stage Spherical Harmonic ESPRIT-Type Algorithm

Sensor arrays are gradually becoming a current research hotspot due to their flexible beam control, high signal gain, robustness against extreme interference, and high spatial resolution. Among them, spherical microphone arrays with complex rotational symmetry can capture more sound field information than planar arrays and can convert the collected multiple speech signals into the spherical harmonic domain for processing through spherical modal decomposition. The subspace class direction of arrival (DOA) estimation algorithm is sensitive to noise and reverberation, and its performance can be improved by introducing relative sound pressure and frequency-smoothing techniques. The introduction of the relative sound pressure can increase the difference between the eigenvalues corresponding to the signal subspace and the noise subspace, which is helpful to estimate the number of active sound sources. The eigenbeam estimation of signal parameters via the rotational invariance technique (EB-ESPRIT) is a well-known subspace-based algorithm for a spherical microphone array. The EB-ESPRIT cannot estimate the DOA when the elevation angle approaches 90°. Huang et al. proposed a two-step ESPRIT (TS-ESPRIT) algorithm to solve this problem. The TS-ESPRIT algorithm estimates the elevation and azimuth angles of the signal independently, so there is a problem with DOA parameter pairing. In this paper, the DOA parameter pairing problem of the TS-ESPRIT algorithm is solved by introducing generalized eigenvalue decomposition without increasing the computation of the algorithm. At the same time, the estimation of the elevation angle is given by the arctan function, which increases the estimation accuracy of the elevation angle of the algorithm. The robustness of the algorithm in a noisy environment is also enhanced by introducing the relative sound pressure into the algorithm. Finally, the simulation and field-testing results show that the proposed method not only solves the problem of DOA parameter pairing, but also outperforms the traditional methods in DOA estimation accuracy.

Improved Rotor Flux-Based SMO and RBF-PID Control Strategy for PMSM

This paper proposes a control strategy that combines an improved flux-based sliding mode observer with a Radial Basis Function Proportional-Integral-Derivative (RBF-PID) controller for the control of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSM). The strategy aims to address the issues of electrical angle estimation errors and torque fluctuations in traditional sliding mode observer control. The improved sliding mode observer utilizes the flux model of the PMSM to enhance the accuracy of electrical angle estimation, thereby reducing the estimation errors and improving the control of the current loop and speed. The RBF-PID controller ensures system stability while achieving faster response and reduced torque fluctuations. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that compared to traditional PI control and sliding mode observer control methods, the proposed strategy improves the performance of electrical angle estimation by 7.05% and reduces overshoot in the q-axis current by 28.6%, exhibiting better control performance and smaller errors.

Can Wearable Sensors Provide Accurate and Reliable 3D Tibiofemoral Angle Estimates during Dynamic Actions?

The ability to accurately measure tibiofemoral angles during various dynamic activities is of clinical interest. The purpose of this study was to determine if inertial measurement units (IMUs) can provide accurate and reliable angle estimates during dynamic actions. A tuned quaternion conversion (TQC) method tuned to dynamics actions was used to calculate Euler angles based on IMU data, and these calculated angles were compared to a motion capture system (our "gold" standard) and a commercially available sensor fusion algorithm. Nine healthy athletes were instrumented with APDM Opal IMUs and asked to perform nine dynamic actions; five participants were used in training the parameters of the TQC method, with the remaining four being used to test validity. Accuracy was based on the root mean square error (RMSE) and reliability was based on the Bland-Altman limits of agreement (LoA). Improvement across all three orthogonal angles was observed as the TQC method was able to more accurately (lower RMSE) and more reliably (smaller LoA) estimate an angle than the commercially available algorithm. No significant difference was observed between the TQC method and the motion capture system in any of the three angles (p < 0.05). It may be feasible to use this method to track tibiofemoral angles with higher accuracy and reliability than the commercially available sensor fusion algorithm.

Dynamic State Estimation of Synchronous Machines Using Iterated Square-Root Cubature Kalman Filter and Synchrophasor Measurements

Power system dynamic state estimation is the first prerequisite for control and stability prediction under transient conditions. For a stable and reliable power system, it is crucial and helpful to have accurate, precise, and up-to-date information on the states of the synchronous machines- rotor angle and rotor speed deviation. This paper proposes an application of the Iterated Square-root Cubature Kalman filter (ISCKF) to estimate these main states of synchronous generators. The ISCKF method consists of two step modification - one is the square-root step modification of CKF and the next step is the addition of iterative approach to the square-root CKF method. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed approach during a three-phase short circuit fault, the simulation results, are compared with that of Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) and Cubature Kalman Filter (CKF). The test systems considered are a single machine infinite bus (SMIB) system, an IEEE 9-bus system and a 19-generator 42-bus test system. The estimation accuracy of the rotor angle using ISCKF method is increased by 6.8–36.54% when compared to that of the CKF method. Similarly, the improvement in accuracy is 4.4–28.57% for estimation of speed deviation.

VLTENet: A Deep-Learning-Based Vertebra Localization and Tilt Estimation Network for Automatic Cobb Angle Estimation.

Scoliosis diagnosis and assessment rely upon Cobb angle estimation from X-ray images of the spine. Recently, automated scoliosis assessment has been greatly improved using deep learning methods. However, in such methods, the Cobb angle is usually predicted based on regression models that don't account for information of the spine structure. Alternatively, the Cobb angle can be estimated indirectly through landmark-detection and vertebra-segmentation, but this approach is still highly sensitive to small detection and segmentation errors. This paper proposes a novel deep-learning architecture, called the vertebra localization and tilt estimation network (VLTENet). This network boosts the Cobb angle estimation accuracy through employing vertebra localization and tilt estimation as network prediction goals. In particular, the VLTENet model innovatively combines a deep high-resolution network (HRNet) and a fully-convolutional U-Net architecture for capturing long-range contextual information, the overall structure, and local details in spinal X-ray images. A feature fusion channel attention (FFCA) module is also proposed to selectively emphasize more informative features and suppress less informative ones. In addition, a joint spine loss function (JS-Loss) is designed to account for the spine shape and other spatial constraints, so that the network focuses more on spine-related regions and ignore irrelevant background regions. Finally, we propose a new Cobb angle estimation method conforms with the clinical Cobb angle calculation guidelines, and produces accurate estimates for different types of scoliosis. Extensive experiments on the publically-available AASCE challenge dataset and on an in-house dataset demonstrated the superiority of our method for the task of automatic assessment of scoliosis.

Study on method of organ section retention and tracking through deep learning in automated diagnostic and therapeutic robotics.

In high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment of the kidney and liver, tracking the organs is essential because respiratory motions make continuous cauterization of the affected area difficult and may cause damage to other parts of the body. In this study, we propose a tracking system for rotational scanning, and propose and evaluate a method for estimating the angles of organs in ultrasound images. We proposed AEMA, AEMAD, and AEMAD++ as methods for estimating the angles of organs in ultrasound images, using RUDS and a phantom to acquire 90-degree images of a kidney from the long-axis image to the short-axis image as a data set. Six datasets were used, with five for preliminary preparation and one for testing, while the initial position was shifted by 2mm in the contralateral axis direction. The test data set was evaluated by estimating the angle using each method. The accuracy and processing speed of angle estimation for AEMA, AEMAD, and AEMAD++ were 23.8% and 0.33 FPS for AEMAD, 32.0% and 0.56 FPS for AEMAD, and 29.5% and 3.20 FPS for AEMAD++, with tolerance of ± 2.5 degrees. AEMAD++ offered the best speed and accuracy. In the phantom experiment, AEMAD++ showed the effectiveness of tracking the long-axis image of the kidney in rotational scanning. In the future, we will add either the area of surrounding organs or the internal structure of the kidney as a new feature to validate the results.

Precise angle estimation of capsule robot in ultrasound using heatmap guided two-stage network

PurposeA capsule robot can be controlled inside gastrointestinal (GI) tract by an external permanent magnet outside of human body for finishing non-invasive diagnosis and treatment. Locomotion control of capsule robot relies on the precise angle feedback that can be achieved by ultrasound imaging. However, ultrasound-based angle estimation of capsule robot is interfered by gastric wall tissue and the mixture of air, water, and digestive matter existing in the stomach. MethodsTo tackle these issues, we introduce a heatmap guided two-stage network to detect the position and estimate the angle of the capsule robot in ultrasound images. Specifically, this network proposes the probability distribution module and skeleton extraction-based angle calculation to obtain accurate capsule robot position and angle estimation. ResultsExtensive experiments were finished on the ultrasound image dataset of capsule robot within porcine stomach. Empirical results showed that our method obtained small position center error of 0.48 mm and high angle estimation accuracy of 96.32%. ConclusionOur method can provide precise angle feedback for locomotion control of capsule robot.

Eliminating Space Scanning: Fast mmWave Beam Alignment with UWB Radios

Due to their large bandwidth and impressive data speed, millimeter-wave (mmWave) radios are expected to play a key role in the 5G and beyond (e.g., 6G) communication networks. Yet, to release mmWave’s true power, the highly directional mmWave beams need to be aligned perfectly. Most existing beam alignment methods adopt an exhaustive or semi-exhaustive space scanning, which introduces up to seconds of delays. To eliminate the need for complex space scanning, this article presents an Ultra-wideband (UWB)-assisted mmWave communication framework, which leverages the co-located UWB antennas to estimate the best angles for mmWave beam alignment. One major challenge of applying this idea in the real world is the barrier of limited antenna numbers. Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) devices are usually equipped with only a small number of UWB antennas, which are not enough for the existing algorithms to provide an accurate angle estimation. To solve this challenge, we design a novel Multi-Frequency MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MF-MUSIC) algorithm, which extends the classic MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm to the frequency domain and overcomes the antenna limitation barrier in the spatial domain. Extensive real-world experiments and numerical simulations illustrate the advantage of the proposed MF-MUSIC algorithm. MF-MUSIC uses only three antennas to achieve an accurate angle estimation, which is a mere 0.15° (or a relative difference of 3.6%) different from the state-of-the-art 16-antenna-based angle estimation method.

Research on a Super-Resolution and Low-Complexity Positioning Algorithm Using FMCW Radar Based on OMP and FFT in 2D Driving Scene.

Multitarget positioning technology, such as FMCW millimeter-wave radar, has broad application prospects in autonomous driving and related mobile scenarios. However, it is difficult for existing correlation algorithms to balance high resolution and low complexity, and it is also difficult to ensure the robustness of the positioning algorithm using an aging antenna. This paper proposes a super-resolution and low-complexity positioning algorithm based on the orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm that can achieve more accurate distance and angle estimation for multiple objects in a low-SNR environment. The algorithm proposed in this paper improves the resolving power by two and one orders of magnitude, respectively, compared to the classical FFT and MUSIC algorithms in the same signal-to-noise environment, and the complexity of the algorithm can be reduced by about 25-30%, with the same resolving power as the OMP algorithm. Based on the positioning algorithm proposed in our paper, we use the PSO algorithm to optimize the arrangement of an aging antenna array so that its angle estimation accuracy is equivalent to that observed when the antenna is intact, improving the positioning algorithm's robustness. This paper also further realizes the use of the proposed algorithm and a single-frame intermediate frequency signal to estimate the position angle information of the object and obtain its motion trajectory and velocity, verifying the proposed algorithm's estimation ability when it comes to these qualities in a moving scene. Furthermore, this paper designs and carries out simulations and experiments. The experimental results verify that the positioning algorithm proposed in this paper can achieve accuracy, robustness, and real-time performance in autonomous driving scenarios.