To read this content please select one of the options below:

Designing of smart chair for monitoring of sitting posture using convolutional neural networks

Wonjoon Kim (Department of Industrial Engineering and Institute for Industrial System Innovation, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea)
Byungki Jin (Department of Industrial Engineering and Institute for Industrial System Innovation, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea)
Sanghyun Choo (Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, North Carolina State University College of Engineering, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA)
Chang S. Nam (Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, North Carolina State University College of Engineering, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA)
Myung Hwan Yun (Department of Industrial Engineering and Institute for Industrial System Innovation, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea)

Data Technologies and Applications

ISSN: 2514-9288

Article publication date: 28 February 2019

Issue publication date: 7 June 2019

844

Abstract

Purpose

Sitting in a chair is a typical act of modern people. Prolonged sitting and sitting with improper postures can lead to musculoskeletal disorders. Thus, there is a need for a sitting posture classification monitoring system that can predict a sitting posture. The purpose of this paper is to develop a system for classifying children’s sitting postures for the formation of correct postural habits.

Design/methodology/approach

For the data analysis, a pressure sensor of film type was installed on the seat of the chair, and image data of the postu.re were collected. A total of 26 children participated in the experiment and collected image data for a total of seven postures. The authors used convolutional neural networks (CNN) algorithm consisting of seven layers. In addition, to compare the accuracy of classification, artificial neural networks (ANN) technique, one of the machine learning techniques, was used.

Findings

The CNN algorithm was used for the sitting position classification and the average accuracy obtained by tenfold cross validation was 97.5 percent. The authors confirmed that classification accuracy through CNN algorithm is superior to conventional machine learning algorithms such as ANN and DNN. Through this study, we confirmed the applicability of the CNN-based algorithm that can be applied to the smart chair to support the correct posture in children.

Originality/value

This study successfully performed the posture classification of children using CNN technique, which has not been used in related studies. In addition, by focusing on children, we have expanded the scope of the related research area and expected to contribute to the early postural habits of children.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflicts of interest. The authors appreciate the administrative support from the Institute for Industrial Systems Innovation of Seoul National University. This research was funded by the BK21 Plus Program (Centre for Sustainable and Innovative Industrial Systems) funded by the Ministry of Education, South Korea (No. 21A20130012638). In addition, this research is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and Korea Culture & Tourism Institute (KCTI) Research & Development Program 2018 (SF0718205).

Citation

Kim, W., Jin, B., Choo, S., Nam, C.S. and Yun, M.H. (2019), "Designing of smart chair for monitoring of sitting posture using convolutional neural networks", Data Technologies and Applications, Vol. 53 No. 2, pp. 142-155. https://doi.org/10.1108/DTA-03-2018-0021

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles