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AbstractThe Xsens MVN motion capture suit is an easy-to- orientation) other than its main direction of movement [7].
use, cost efficient system for full-body human motion capture. Moreover, to be able to track complex human joints and non-
MVN is based on unique, state-of-the-art miniature inertial rigid body parts such as the back and shoulder accurately,
sensors, biomechanical models and sensor fusion algorithms.
MVN does not need external cameras, emitters or markers. more than three degrees of freedom, as given by an orientation
It can thus be used outdoors as well as indoors, there are no measurement, are required. Furthermore, importantly, with
restrictions for lighting, it does not suffer from problems of only orientation driven motion capture, it is not possible
occlusion or missing markers. In addition, unique for inertial to analyze the clearance of both feet, which occurs during
motion capture technology: the sensor-suit captures any type of running or jumping. Using this approach, it is also not possible
movement, including running, jumping, crawling and cartwheels.
to accurately determine the displacement of the body with
respect to a coordinate system not fixed to the body.
To provide full six-degree-of-freedom tracking of body
I. I NTRODUCTION segments with connected inertial sensor modules, each body
Sensor signals
Segment x Joint External Aiding x +
INS
kinematics update contacts sensors
Fig. 2. Sensor fusion scheme. In the prediction step, sensor kinematics are calculated using inertial navigation algorithms (INS) from the measured accelerations
and angular velocities. Using the biomechanical model, the sensor kinematics are translated to segment kinematics. In the correction step, joint updates are
applied to the segments, followed by the detection of contacts of points with the external world. Optionally, other aiding sensors can be incorporated in the
sensor fusion scheme. After all correction steps, estimated kinematics are fed back to the appropriate prediction step.
The MVN motion capture system is fully ambulatory and Since the sensor signals and the biomechanical model can
consists only of body worn sensors. The system is unique in be described in a stochastic manner, it can be incorporated
its approach to estimate body segment orientation and position in a sensor fusion scheme with a prediction and correction
changes by integration of gyroscope and accelerometer signals step (see Figure 2). In the prediction step, all sensor signals
which are continuously updated by using a biomechanical are processed using so-called inertial navigation system (INS)
model of the human body. This allows for tracking of dynamic algorithms (Section II-C). This is followed by the prediction
motion. By facilitating the constraints of the model, notably, of the segment kinematics using a known sensor to body align-
the segments are connected by joints, the kinematics of body ment and a biomechanical model of the body (Section II-D).
segments are corrected for drift and other errors. The system Over time, integration of inertial sensor data leads to drift
runs in real-time with a maximum update rate for all kinemat- errors due to presence of sensor noise, sensor signal offset, or
ics of 120 Hz. With the MVN Studio software, the user can sensor orientation errors. To correct the estimated quantities,
easily observe, record and export the movements in 3D. This such as orientation, velocity, and position, the sensor fusion
paper describes the design, working principles, output formats scheme updates the estimates continuously. The correction step
and technical features of MVN. includes updates based on biomechanical characteristics of the
human body (Section II-E), notably joints, detection of contact
II. W ORKING PRINCIPLES points of the body with an external world which constraints
the global position and velocity (Section II-F), and, optionally,
A. System set-up
other aiding sensors. Estimated kinematics are fed back to the
The MVN motion capture system consists of 17 MTx INS algorithms and segment kinematic step to be used in the
sensors with two Xbus Masters [11]. The MTx is an inertial next time frame.
and magnetic measurement unit and comprises 3D gyroscopes,
3D accelerometers and 3D magnetometers (385321 mm,
30 g). The sensor modules are daisy chained connected to B. System calibration
the Xbus Masters, meaning that there is only one cable To express segment kinematics in the global frame, the kine-
leading to each limb. The Xbus Masters synchronizes all matics of the sensors must be subjected to a step of calibration
sensor sampling, provides sensors with power and handles the wherein the orientation of the sensor module with respect to
wireless communication with the PC or laptop. For quick and the segment (see Figure 4b) and the relative distances between
convenient placement, the sensors and cables are integrated in joints are determined.
a Lycra suit and the Xbus Masters are mounted on the back.
To find the sensor to segment alignment, several methods
The total weight of the system (including 8 AA batteries) is
are used and combined. In the first step, the subject is asked
1.9 kg. Sensor modules are placed on the feet, lower legs,
to stand in an a priori known pose: the T-pose (upright with
upper legs, pelvis, shoulders, sternum, head, upper arms, fore
arms horizontally and thumbs forward). The rotation from
arms and hands (see Figure 1).
sensor to body segment BS q is determined by matching the
When attaching sensors to a body, the initial pose between
orientation of the sensor in the global frame GS q with the
the sensors and body segments is unknown. Moreover, the
known orientation of each segment GB q in this pose.
assessment of distances between body segments is difficult by
numerical integration of acceleration because of the unknown GB
q = GS q BS q (1)
initial position. Therefore, a calibration procedure has to be
performed in which the sensor to body alignment and body where denotes a quaternion multiplication and the com-
dimensions are determined (Section II-B). plex conjugate of the quaternion [12].
XSENS MVN - INERTIAL MOTION CAPTURE 3
D. Segment kinematics
The INS kinematics are translated to body segment kine-
matics using a biomechanical model which assumes that a
subjects body includes body segments linked by joints and
Fig. 3. Hand touch calibration: the sensor to segment alignment and segment that the sensors are attached to the subjects body segments.
lengths are re-estimated by solving the closed kinematic chain for each pose. Joint origins are determined by the anatomical frame and are
defined in the center of the functional axes with the directions
of the X, Y and Z being related to functional movements
C. Inertial tracking (see Figure 4a). For example, flexion/extension of the knee
Rate gyroscopes measure angular velocity , and if inte- is described by the rotation about the B Y-axis of the lower
grated over time, provide the change in angle (or orientation) leg with respect to the upper leg; abduction/adduction is the
with respect to an initially known angle: rotation about the B X-axis; and endo/exo rotation is about the
B
Z-axis.
GS 1 GS When the position pU 0 of the joint origin, the orientation
qt = 2 qt t (2)
GB
qU , and the length sU of segment U are known, the
where GS qt is the quaternion describing the rotation from sen- position of point pU 1 in the global frame can be calculated
T
sor (S) to global frame (G) at time t. t = (0, x , y , z ) (assuming a rigid segment) (see Figure 4c):
is the quaternion representation of the angular velocity t .
Linear accelerometers measure the vector of acceleration G
pU 1 = G pU 0 + GB qU B sU GB qU (5)
a and gravitational acceleration g in sensor coordinates. The
sensor signals can be expressed in the global reference system At t = 0, the origin of segment L, point pL0 , is connected to
if the orientation of the sensor GS qt is known: point pU 1 of segment U (see Figure 4d).
The biomechanical model consists of 23 segments: pelvis,
G
at G g = GS qt S
at S g GS qt
(3) L5, L3, T12, T8, neck, head, and right and left shoulder, upper
arm, fore arm, hand, upper leg, lower leg, foot and toe. For
After removing the gravity component, the acceleration at the segments on which no sensor is attached, the kinematics
can be integrated once to velocity vt and twice to position pt , are estimated based on the biomechanical model incorporating
all in the global frame: stiffness parameters between connecting segments.
Skin and soft tissue artifacts do influence the measurements
G
pt = G at (4) of the sensors, similar to other skin-based systems due to
4
c XSENS TECHNOLOGIES - VERSION APRIL 8, 2009
Fig. 6. Left: actor wearing the MVN suit. Middle: MVN Studio output. Right: animated character.
(a)
R EFERENCES
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in or outside within the range of the wireless link. There is cellari, The development and test of a device for the
no need to install or place any fixed infrastructure. The total reconstruction of 3-D position and orientation by means
set-up time (including calibration) takes less than 10 minutes. of a kinematic sensor assembly with rate gyroscopes
MVN is a lightweight on-body system and can be worn under and accelerometers, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical
normal clothing or for example a green suit. There is no Engineering, vol. 52, no. 7, pp. 12711277, 2005.
XSENS MVN - INERTIAL MOTION CAPTURE 7