custom-smartphone-application-to-guide-locomotor-respiratory-coupling

Custom Smartphone Application to Guide Locomotor-Respiratory Coupling in the Field Using Step-Adaptive Breathing Sounds

While running is amongst the most popular activities for competition and leisure, an estimated 20-40% of runners may suffer from respiratory limitations. ...

adidas AG

Running has a positive impact on human health and is an accessible sport for most people. There is high demand for tracking running performance and progress for amateurs and professionals alike. The parameters velocity and distance are thereby of main interest. In this work, we evaluate the accuracy of four algorithms, which calculate the stride velocity and stride length during running using data of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) placed in the midsole of a running shoe. The four algorithms are based on stride time, foot acceleration, foot trajectory estimation, and deep learning, respectively. They are compared using two studies: a laboratory-based study comprising 2377 strides from 27 subjects with 3D motion tracking as a reference and a field study comprising 12 subjects performing a 3.2-km run in a real-world setup. The results show that the foot trajectory estimation algorithm performs best, achieving a mean error of 0.032 ± 0.274 m/s for the velocity estimation and 0.022 ± 0.157 m for the stride length. An interesting alternative for systems with a low energy budget is the acceleration-based approach. Our results support the implementation decision for running velocity and distance tracking using IMUs embedded in the sole of a running shoe.

Comparison of Different Algorithms for Calculating Velocity and Stride Length in Running Using Inertial Measurement Units.

Wearable sensor technology already has a great impact on the endurance running community. Smartwatches and heart rate monitors are heavily used to evaluate runners' performance and monitor their training progress. Additionally, foot-mounted inertial measurement units (IMUs) have drawn the attention of sport scientists due to the possibility to monitor biomechanically relevant spatio-temporal parameters outside the lab in real-world environments. Researchers developed and investigated algorithms to extract various features using IMU data of different sensor positions on the foot. In this work, we evaluate whether the sensor position of IMUs mounted to running shoes has an impact on the accuracy of different spatio-temporal parameters. We compare both the raw data of the IMUs at different sensor positions as well as the accuracy of six endurance running-related parameters. We contribute a study with 29 subjects wearing running shoes equipped with four IMUs on both the left and the right shoes and a motion capture system as ground truth. The results show that the IMUs measure different raw data depending on their position on the foot and that the accuracy of the spatio-temporal parameters depends on the sensor position. We recommend to integrate IMU sensors in a cavity in the sole of a running shoe under the foot's arch, because the raw data of this sensor position is best suitable for the reconstruction of the foot trajectory during a stride.

Ulf Jensen

adidas AG

Custom Smartphone Application to Guide Locomotor-Respiratory Coupling in the Field Using Step-Adaptive Breathing Sounds