Tracking Highly Dynamic Humanoid Motion with Dynamic IMU Measurement Fusion

Abstract

Inertial sensing estimation methods allows human motion tracking in the absence of optical tracking and joint encoders, but the methods are rather developed for quasistatic motion due to the limited motion capability of humanoids. This paper presents a new method that tracks highly dynamic motion using Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) measurements. Unlike conventional methods dependent on quasistatic motion for inclination correction with the measured gravity vector, the proposed method uses accelerometers to correct the rotational rate. This is achieved by placing sensors on the ends of links, and converting the acceleration measured at the ends to angular rate based on centrifugal forces. Measuring human motions of low and high intensities is used to identify any strengths and weaknesses of the proposed method with different applications. The proposed technique maintains an acceptable error for both quasistatic and highly dynamic motions and can be used to accurately visualize measured motions.