On the Positioning of Wearable Optical Devices

In this paper we consider the problems associated with placing optical devices on the human body. Whilst optical sensors and transmitters are already used by many researchers, the position of the device often appears to be chosen by intuition alone and without reporting any quantitative justification. We discuss simulating the user and device such that quantitative comparison can be made over a range of positions around the body for some of the main properties that dominate device placement — occlusion by the wearer, clear sight of the dominant workspace and amount of motion during user activity. Results are presented from our simulation and used to guide position selection in a rigourous manner. This performance-based design, together with the more social considerations which discount certain placements confirm the intuition of the many authors who have already placed their sensors.