Motion tracking system
First Claim
1. A method for capturing motion of an object having a plurality of segments via a plurality of motion sensor modules located on the segments, each of two or more of the segments of the object having thereon at least one sensor module, each sensor module being adapted to capture 3D position data and 3D orientation data associated with its respective segment, the method comprising:
- collecting 3D inertial sensor data at each sensor module via at least one 3D accelerometer sensor and at least one 3D angular velocity sensor; and
calculating a 3D orientation and 3D position of each segment having a sensor module by integrating the 3D angular velocity data and doubly integrating the 3D accelerometer data in time while applying a joint constraint to correct the calculated segment positions and orientations such that the segments are constrained to be linked to one another via a joint having at least one joint characteristic property, wherein applying the joint constraint is executed consistent with the at least one joint characteristic property and includes allowing a predetermined degree of laxity in one or more joints.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system is provided for capturing motion of a moving object via a plurality of motion sensor modules placed on various body segments. The sensor modules capture both 3D position and 3D orientation data relating to their respective body segments, thereby gathering motion data having six degrees of freedom with respect to a coordinate system not fixed to the body. Each body sensor collects 3D inertial sensor data and, optionally, magnetic field data. In embodiments, either DSP circuitry within the sensor modules or an external computing device, processes the sensor data to arrive at orientation and position estimates by using an estimation algorithm, such as a Kalman filter or a particle filter. The processing includes biomechanical model constraints that allow flexibility in the joints and provide characteristics for various joint types. To improve estimation accuracy, the system may be integrated with various types of aiding sensors.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for capturing motion of an object having a plurality of segments via a plurality of motion sensor modules located on the segments, each of two or more of the segments of the object having thereon at least one sensor module, each sensor module being adapted to capture 3D position data and 3D orientation data associated with its respective segment, the method comprising:
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collecting 3D inertial sensor data at each sensor module via at least one 3D accelerometer sensor and at least one 3D angular velocity sensor; and calculating a 3D orientation and 3D position of each segment having a sensor module by integrating the 3D angular velocity data and doubly integrating the 3D accelerometer data in time while applying a joint constraint to correct the calculated segment positions and orientations such that the segments are constrained to be linked to one another via a joint having at least one joint characteristic property, wherein applying the joint constraint is executed consistent with the at least one joint characteristic property and includes allowing a predetermined degree of laxity in one or more joints. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system for capturing motion of an object having a plurality of segments, the system comprising:
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a plurality of motion sensor modules including at least one sensor module located on each of two or more segments, each sensor module being adapted to capture 3D inertial sensor data; and at least one sensor fusion circuit for estimating 3D position and 3D orientation of the plurality of segments based on the 3D inertial sensor data captured by the motion sensor modules, and being adapted to apply a joint constraint to correct for drift by modeling the segments as being linked to one another via a joint having at least one joint characteristic property wherein the segment constraints comprise a biomechanical model of the object having a plurality of segment joints and allowing a predetermined degree of laxity in one or more joints. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A motion sensor module for capturing motion of at least one of a plurality of object segments, wherein the motion sensor module is located on the at least one of the segments, the motion sensor module comprising:
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at least one of a 3D accelerometer sensor and a 3D angular velocity sensor for collecting 3D inertial sensor data associated with the at least one segment; and a sensor fusion circuit for estimating 3D position and 3D orientation data based on the 3D inertial sensor data, wherein the sensor fusion circuit updates the 3D position and 3D orientation estimates by applying a plurality of joint constraints based on predetermined characteristics of the object segments to correct for drift by modeling the segments as being linked to one another via a joint having at least one joint characteristic property, allowing a predetermined degree of laxity in one or more joints. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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Specification