Proof of the Accuracy of Measuring Pants to Evaluate the Activity of the Hip and Legs in Everyday Life

In this paper, an innovative measuring platform for the detection of movements of legs and hips is presented and tested. The system consists of washable pants with built-in acceleration sensors and control and evaluation electronics and is powered by detachable, rechargeable batteries. It measures acceleration at the hip and legs in three directions in space. The movement detection is based on recognizing, by means of the sensors, the posture and acceleration magnitudes usually associated to a specific movement. The raw sensor data are saved on the integrated MicroSD card for posterior analyze in a computer. With the help of mathematical functions presented in this paper, the timely occurrence of a specific movement can finally be detected. The whole system (pants, sensors and electronics) is washable due to component’s encapsulation. Thanks to an optimized production process, the system can be affordably reproduced in low volume productions and can be adjusted for multiple purposes.

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