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Article
Publication date: 8 March 2011

Matthew Field, Zengxi Pan, David Stirling and Fazel Naghdy

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of various motion capture technologies and discuss the methods for handling the captured data in applications related to robotics.

1583

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of various motion capture technologies and discuss the methods for handling the captured data in applications related to robotics.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach taken in the paper is to compare the features and limitations of motion trackers in common use. After introducing the technology, a summary is given of robotic‐related work undertaken with the sensors and the strengths of different approaches in handling the data are discussed. Each comparison is presented in a table. Results from the author's experimentation with an inertial motion capture system are discussed based on clustering and segmentation techniques.

Findings

The trend in methodology is towards stochastic machine learning techniques such as hidden Markov model or Gaussian mixture model, their extensions in hierarchical forms and non‐linear dimension reduction. The resulting empirical models tend to handle uncertainty well and are suitable for incrementally updating models. The challenges in human‐robot interaction today include expanding upon generalising motions to understand motion planning and decisions and build ultimately context aware systems.

Originality/value

Reviews including descriptions of motion trackers and recent methodologies used in analyzing the data they capture are not very common. Some exist, as has been pointed out in the paper, but this review concentrates more on applications in the robotics field. There is value in regularly surveying the research areas considered in this paper due to the rapid progress in sensors and especially data modeling.

Details

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 38 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 June 2019

Muhammad Yahya, Jawad Ali Shah, Kushsairy Abdul Kadir, Zulkhairi M. Yusof, Sheroz Khan and Arif Warsi

Motion capture system (MoCap) has been used in measuring the human body segments in several applications including film special effects, health care, outer-space and under-water…

1448

Abstract

Purpose

Motion capture system (MoCap) has been used in measuring the human body segments in several applications including film special effects, health care, outer-space and under-water navigation systems, sea-water exploration pursuits, human machine interaction and learning software to help teachers of sign language. The purpose of this paper is to help the researchers to select specific MoCap system for various applications and the development of new algorithms related to upper limb motion.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides an overview of different sensors used in MoCap and techniques used for estimating human upper limb motion.

Findings

The existing MoCaps suffer from several issues depending on the type of MoCap used. These issues include drifting and placement of Inertial sensors, occlusion and jitters in Kinect, noise in electromyography signals and the requirement of a well-structured, calibrated environment and time-consuming task of placing markers in multiple camera systems.

Originality/value

This paper outlines the issues and challenges in MoCaps for measuring human upper limb motion and provides an overview on the techniques to overcome these issues and challenges.

Details

Sensor Review, vol. 39 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0260-2288

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 March 2017

Bin Fang, Fuchun Sun, Huaping Liu and Di Guo

The purpose of this paper is to present a novel data glove which can capture the motion of the arm and hand by inertial and magnetic sensors. The proposed data glove is used to…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a novel data glove which can capture the motion of the arm and hand by inertial and magnetic sensors. The proposed data glove is used to provide the information of the gestures and teleoperate the robotic arm-hand.

Design/methodology/approach

The data glove comprises 18 low-cost inertial and magnetic measurement units (IMMUs) which not only make up the drawbacks of traditional data glove that only captures the incomplete gesture information but also provide a novel scheme of the robotic arm-hand teleoperation. The IMMUs are compact and small enough to wear on the upper arm, forearm, palm and fingers. The calibration method is proposed to improve the accuracy of measurements of units, and the orientations of each IMMU are estimated by a two-step optimal filter. The kinematic models of the arm, hand and fingers are integrated into the entire system to capture the motion gesture. A positon algorithm is also deduced to compute the positions of fingertips. With the proposed data glove, the robotic arm-hand can be teleoperated by the human arm, palm and fingers, thus establishing a novel robotic arm-hand teleoperation scheme.

Findings

Experimental results show that the proposed data glove can accurately and fully capture the fine gesture. Using the proposed data glove as the multiple input device has also proved to be a suitable teleoperating robotic arm-hand system.

Originality/value

Integrated with 18 low-cost and miniature IMMUs, the proposed data glove can give more information of the gesture than existing devices. Meanwhile, the proposed algorithms for motion capture determine the superior results. Furthermore, the accurately captured gestures can efficiently facilitate a novel teleoperation scheme to teleoperate the robotic arm-hand.

Details

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 44 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 July 2016

Meiyin Liu, SangUk Han and SangHyun Lee

As a means of data acquisition for the situation awareness, computer vision-based motion capture technologies have increased the potential to observe and assess manual activities…

1182

Abstract

Purpose

As a means of data acquisition for the situation awareness, computer vision-based motion capture technologies have increased the potential to observe and assess manual activities for the prevention of accidents and injuries in construction. This study thus aims to present a computationally efficient and robust method of human motion data capture for the on-site motion sensing and analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

This study investigated a tracking approach to three-dimensional (3D) human skeleton extraction from stereo video streams. Instead of detecting body joints on each image, the proposed method tracks locations of the body joints over all the successive frames by learning from the initialized body posture. The corresponding body joints to the ones tracked are then identified and matched on the image sequences from the other lens and reconstructed in a 3D space through triangulation to build 3D skeleton models. For validation, a lab test is conducted to evaluate the accuracy and working ranges of the proposed method, respectively.

Findings

Results of the test reveal that the tracking approach produces accurate outcomes at a distance, with nearly real-time computational processing, and can be potentially used for site data collection. Thus, the proposed approach has a potential for various field analyses for construction workers’ safety and ergonomics.

Originality/value

Recently, motion capture technologies have rapidly been developed and studied in construction. However, existing sensing technologies are not yet readily applicable to construction environments. This study explores two smartphones as stereo cameras as a potentially suitable means of data collection in construction for the less operational constrains (e.g. no on-body sensor required, less sensitivity to sunlight, and flexible ranges of operations).

Details

Construction Innovation, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 July 2013

Ho‐Young Kim, Jun‐Seong Lee and Jae‐Hung Han

The purpose of this paper is to perform an indoor autonomous flight of ornithopter using a novel motion capture system.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to perform an indoor autonomous flight of ornithopter using a novel motion capture system.

Design/methodology/approach

The ornithopter platform has no on‐board sensors and processors for state estimation or feedback control. Instead, passive markers on the ornithopter body reflect IR light of the multiple strobing CCD cameras, and the position data of the markers are streamed to the ground station in almost real time. Control inputs such as wingbeat frequency and rudder angle are generated by the proportional feedback controllers which are implemented in the ground station and transmitted to the ornithopter. Due to the complexity and nonlinearity of aerodynamics and flexible multibody dynamics, the flight dynamics of ornithopter are difficult to realize in the closed form of state‐space system equations. A controller for stabilizing the flight state variables of ornithopter is not necessary to be implemented by means of flapping counter‐forces and torques which make ornithopter have inherent flight stability. The gains of controllers for following circular trajectories are obtained by a trial‐and‐error approach rather than a model‐based design.

Findings

The autonomous ornithopter successfully circulates the pre‐described radius with the constant altitude and the result shows that control strategies proposed in this study are sufficient to implement the autonomy of ornithopter flight.

Originality/value

The autonomous flight of ornithopter is firstly conducted in a confined indoor environment by using the motion capture system and the control performance is evaluated in terms of position errors.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems, vol. 1 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-6427

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2013

Myagmarbayar Nergui, Yuki Yoshida, Nevrez Imamoglu, Jose Gonzalez, Masashi Sekine and Wenwei Yu

The aim of this paper is to develop autonomous mobile home healthcare robots, which are capable of observing patients’ motions, recognizing the patients’ behaviours based on…

1722

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to develop autonomous mobile home healthcare robots, which are capable of observing patients’ motions, recognizing the patients’ behaviours based on observation data, and providing automatically calling for medical personnel in emergency situations. The robots to be developed will bring about cost‐effective, safe and easier at‐home rehabilitation to most motor‐function impaired patients (MIPs).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper has developed following programs/control algorithms: control algorithms for a mobile robot to track and follow human motions, to measure human joint trajectories, and to calculate angles of lower limb joints; and algorithms for recognizing human gait behaviours based on the calculated joints angle data.

Findings

A Hidden Markov Model (HMM) based human gait behaviour recognition taking lower limb joint angles and body angle as input was proposed. The proposed HMM based gait behaviour recognition is compared with the Nearest Neighbour (NN) classification methods. Experimental results showed that a human gait behaviour recognition using HMM can be achieved from the lower limb joint trajectory with higher accuracy than compared classification methods.

Originality/value

The research addresses human motion tracking and recognition by a mobile robot. Human gait behaviour recognition is HMM based lower limb joints and body angle data from extracted from kinect sensor at the mobile robot.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-6427

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 22 July 2019

Wenbin Xu, Xudong Li, Liang Gong, Yixiang Huang, Zeyuan Zheng, Zelin Zhao, Lujie Zhao, Binhao Chen, Haozhe Yang, Li Cao and Chengliang Liu

This paper aims to present a human-in-the-loop natural teaching paradigm based on scene-motion cross-modal perception, which facilitates the manipulation intelligence and robot…

1465

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present a human-in-the-loop natural teaching paradigm based on scene-motion cross-modal perception, which facilitates the manipulation intelligence and robot teleoperation.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed natural teaching paradigm is used to telemanipulate a life-size humanoid robot in response to a complicated working scenario. First, a vision sensor is used to project mission scenes onto virtual reality glasses for human-in-the-loop reactions. Second, motion capture system is established to retarget eye-body synergic movements to a skeletal model. Third, real-time data transfer is realized through publish-subscribe messaging mechanism in robot operating system. Next, joint angles are computed through a fast mapping algorithm and sent to a slave controller through a serial port. Finally, visualization terminals render it convenient to make comparisons between two motion systems.

Findings

Experimentation in various industrial mission scenes, such as approaching flanges, shows the numerous advantages brought by natural teaching, including being real-time, high accuracy, repeatability and dexterity.

Originality/value

The proposed paradigm realizes the natural cross-modal combination of perception information and enhances the working capacity and flexibility of industrial robots, paving a new way for effective robot teaching and autonomous learning.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 46 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 June 2013

Jie Liu

The purpose of this paper is to develop a robotic tooth brushing simulator mimicking realistic tooth brushing motions, thereby facilitating greater understanding of the generation…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a robotic tooth brushing simulator mimicking realistic tooth brushing motions, thereby facilitating greater understanding of the generation of realistic tooth brushing motion for optimal design of toothbrushes.

Design/methodology/approach

Tooth brushing motions were measured via a motion capture system. Different motion patterns of brushing were analysed. A series of elliptical motion segments were generated by interpolating ellipse‐like trajectories. Furthermore, a path generation algorithm for brushing simulation was proposed. A path planning system incorporating robot motion control was developed to simulate realistic tooth brushing. The generality and efficiency of the proposed algorithm was demonstrated through simulation and experimental results.

Findings

The interpolation of ellipse‐like trajectories can generate elliptical motion segments. Furthermore, realistic tooth brushing can be achieved by integrating the elliptical motion segments into the path generated from the surfaces of teeth. The brushing simulator demonstrated good reproducibility of clinically standardized tooth brushing.

Practical implications

A robotic toothbrush assessment system is a potential application to the robotic tooth brushing simulator by incorporating control of brushing variables, including brushing pressure, speed and temperature.

Originality/value

This study demonstrates the feasibility of using robotic simulation techniques towards improved realistic human tooth brushing motions simulation for optimal design of tooth brushes.

Details

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 40 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 October 2020

Le Fu and Jie Zhao

Admittance control is a typical complaint control methodology. Traditionally, admittance control systems are based on a dynamical relationship described by Voigt model. By…

Abstract

Purpose

Admittance control is a typical complaint control methodology. Traditionally, admittance control systems are based on a dynamical relationship described by Voigt model. By contrast, after changing connection of spring and damper, Maxwell model produces different dynamics and has shown better impact absorption performance. This paper aims to design a novel compliant control method based on Maxwell model and implement it in a robot catching scenario.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve this goal, this paper proposed a Maxwell model based admittance control scheme. Considering several motion stages involved in one catching attempt, the following approaches are adopted. First, Kalman filter is used to process the position data stream acquired from motion capture system and predict the subsequent object flying trajectory. Then, a linear segments with parabolic blends reaching motion is generated to achieve time-optimal movement under kinematic and joint inherent constraints. After robot reached the desired catching point, the proposed Maxwell model based admittance controller performs such as a cushion to moderate the impact between robot end-effector and flying object.

Findings

This paper has experimentally demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. Compared with typical Voigt model based compliant catching, less object bounding away from end-effector happens and the success rate of catching has been improved.

Originality/value

The authors proposed a novel Maxwell model based admittance control method and demonstrated its effectiveness in a robot catching scenario. The author’s approach may inspire other related researchers and has great potential of practical usage in a widespread of robot applications.

Details

Assembly Automation, vol. 41 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-5154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 October 2012

Aolin Tang and Qixin Cao

A walking assistant robot can help elderly people walk around independently, which could improve the life quality of the elderly and benefit our aging society. Ensuring the…

Abstract

Purpose

A walking assistant robot can help elderly people walk around independently, which could improve the life quality of the elderly and benefit our aging society. Ensuring the elderly person's walking comfort with such a robot is very important. At present, the majority of walking assistant robot research does not focus on this field. The purpose of this paper is to examine the requirements of comfortable walking and outline the design of a motion control algorithm for a walking assistant robot, Walkmate III, based on comfort.

Design/methodology/approach

During walking, the walking assistant robot should be able to capture the intent of user, guide the user and move at the same pace as the user. Usually, force or haptic interface is used to detect the user's walking intention. The motion control system then transforms the forces applied by the user into the robot's motion. By surveying the elderly people at a nursing home, the authors find that this transformation is important to the walking comfortableness and should be carefully designed. In this paper, the model of walking assisting process with such kind of walking assistant robot is derived at first. Based on this model, a new motion control algorithm is then designed.

Findings

The elderly hoped that, in all topographic conditions, only small forces were needed to drive the walker during walking. Also, good maneuverability was also very important for a walker, to offer the user comfort, which meant the walking assistant robot should be able to respond to the input forces quickly and precisely. Currently widely‐used motion control algorithms cannot satisfy all those requirements. In this paper, a new motion control algorithm is proposed, which can get a fast and precise response to the input forces and the input forces needed to drive the robot are kept at a preferred small level, so that the user will not feel tired during walking. Furthermore, by modifying, force feedback can be realized to improve the comfortableness of walking.

Practical implications

The availability of walking assistant robot with improved walking comfortableness might encourage a wider adoption of robotics in our daily life. It could also benefit our aging society by improving the life quality of the elderly and reducing the pressure deriving from nursing labor shortages.

Originality/value

This paper is of value to engineers and researchers developing walking assistant robots for the elderly people.

Details

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 39 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 8000