Examensarbete
Björn Nutti
LITH-ISY-EX--06/3940--SE
Linköping 2006
Björn Nutti
LITH-ISY-EX--06/3940--SE
Sammanfattning
Abstract
Hasomed GmbH, a German company in the eld of medicine technology, intends
to introduce a gait analysis system on the market. The system includes an inertial
sensor which collects data used for generating movement patterns of the feet. This
thesis describes the development and evaluation of a new version of the sensor,
aimed at minimizing costs, maximizing performance and facilitating production.
Algorithms used in the gait analysis system are sensitive to noise. Noise sources
and precautions taken in order to minimize noise levels are described and discussed.
By minimizing the physical size of analogue electronics blocks, static noise and
occasional high frequency components were substantially reduced.
New features including internal temperature sensors, rmware update via serial
interface, self-test functions and a wireless link were implemented. Additional
improvements are e.g. lower power consumption and an extension of the interface
from 2 to 256 (theoretical limit) attached devices. By reducing the number of
included components and PCB (Printed Circuit Board) layers, together with use of
components that do not require advanced soldering techniques, easier and cheaper
production was obtained.
Research and development presented in this thesis resulted in a sensor with overall
good performance and new features.
Nyckelord
Keywords Inertial Sensor, Inertial Measurement Unit, MEMS, Motion Capture
Abstract
Hasomed GmbH, a German company in the eld of medicine technology, intends
to introduce a gait analysis system on the market. The system includes an inertial
sensor which collects data used for generating movement patterns of the feet. This
thesis describes the development and evaluation of a new version of the sensor,
aimed at minimizing costs, maximizing performance and facilitating production.
Algorithms used in the gait analysis system are sensitive to noise. Noise sources
and precautions taken in order to minimize noise levels are described and discussed.
By minimizing the physical size of analogue electronics blocks, static noise and
occasional high frequency components were substantially reduced.
New features including internal temperature sensors, rmware update via serial
interface, self-test functions and a wireless link were implemented. Additional
improvements are e.g. lower power consumption and an extension of the interface
from 2 to 256 (theoretical limit) attached devices. By reducing the number of
included components and PCB (Printed Circuit Board) layers, together with use of
components that do not require advanced soldering techniques, easier and cheaper
production was obtained.
Research and development presented in this thesis resulted in a sensor with overall
good performance and new features.
v
Acknowledgments
I am very grateful that I was given the opportunity to do my master's thesis at
Hasomed GmbH. I had a great time and met many inspiring, enthusiastic and
competent persons. The atmosphere at Hasomed GmbH is fantastic and all of the
co-workers have a nature of being friendly and helpful.
Special thanks to Dr. Peter Weber and Dr. Wolfgang Liedecke for giving me the
opportunity to work in an interesting project such as this.
I am also grateful to my supervisor, Prof. Mark Vesterbacka, for support when
needed.
Thanks to Josef Halfpapp, Matthias Weber, Dr. Ralf Kauert, and Dr.-Ing. Carsten
Behling for fruitful discussions during my work at Hasomed GmbH.
I would also like to thank Johannes Hallqvist for establishing my contact with Ha-
somed GmbH, Marcus Hennix for interesting discussions regarding my work and
Erik Nyberg White and Josephine Speziali for proof-reading.
Finally, I would like to thank Josephine and my family for believing in and sup-
porting me during my work.
vii
Contents
1 Introduction 3
1.1 Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Research Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Thesis Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Background 5
2.1 Inertial Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2 Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2.1 Accelerometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2.2 Gyroscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3 Noise Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3.1 Mechanical Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3.2 Electrical Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3.3 Quantization Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4 Quantization Precision 15
4.1 System Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.1.1 Old Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.1.2 New Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.2 Signal Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.2.1 X - Source Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.2.2 M - Mechanical Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
ix
4.2.3 I - Internal Electrical Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.2.4 W - External Electrical Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.2.5 QN - Quantization Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.3 Simulation of 12- and 16-bit Quantization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.3.1 Simulation Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.3.2 Quantized Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.3.3 Introduced Error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.3.4 Signal-To-Noise Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.3.5 Quantization Noise - Simulation 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.3.6 Quantization Noise - Simulation 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.3.7 Results from Noise Simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5 Results 23
5.1 Quantization Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.1.1 Test Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.1.2 Data Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.1.3 Algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.1.4 Simulations of 12- and 16-bit Precision . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.2 Static Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.2.1 Gyroscopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.3 Compliance with the Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.3.1 Signal Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.3.2 Quantization Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.3.3 Temperature Drift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.3.4 Range of Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.3.5 Bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.3.6 Sample Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.4 Additional Features and Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.4.1 Reduced Power Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.4.2 Internal Self-Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.4.3 PCB with Fewer Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.4.4 Firmware Update via Serial Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.4.5 Bus System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.4.6 Wireless Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
6 Conclusion 31
6.1 Enhanced Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6.2 Easier Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6.3 New Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6.4 Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Bibliography 33
A Simulations 35
A.1 Simulation 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
A.2 Simulation 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
A.3 Simulation 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Abbreviations
6DOF 6 Degrees Of Freedom
ADC Analogue-to-Digital Converter
DC Direct Current
DOF Degree Of Freedom
IFF Fraunhofer-Institut für Fabrikbetrieb und -Automatisierung
IMU Inertial Measurement Unit
MEMS Microelectromechanical Systems
MST Micro Systems Technology
PCB Printed Circuit Board
PSD Power Spectral Density
SNR Signal-to-Noise Ratio
1
2 Contents
Chapter 1
Introduction
In the eld of rehabilitation, an accurate diagnosis is of great importance. New
technology makes way for new, more accurate analysis methods. Hasomed GmbH,
located in Magdeburg Germany, is one of the leading companies in the area of gait
analysis systems.
A gait analysis system records a subject's walk, divides it into steps and step
phases. An inertial sensor integrated in the gait analysis system is used to record
the walk. Hasomed GmbH developed their rst gait analysis system and inertial
sensor in cooperation with Fraunhofer-Institut für Fabrikbetrieb (IFF). Introduc-
ing this system on the market requires a more accurate, and cheaper, inertial
sensor. To meet these requirements a second inertial sensor was developed by the
author of this thesis.
1.1 Scope
This thesis aims at describing the development and evaluation of a new inertial
sensor, which is going to be a part of the gait analysis system. The thesis starts
with an evaluation of the existing sensor and ends in a nal comparison between
the existing and the developed sensor. The existing is currently in use at Hasomed
GmbH, the new one is developed by the author.
Components, design, implementation and sensitive data are excluded from this
thesis since they are considered to be condential.
3
4 Introduction
Background
In this chapter, background theory and commonly used concepts are explained.
First, the characteristics of an inertial sensor are described. This is followed by a
presentation of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) sensors. Finally, dier-
ent noise sources are discussed.
5
6 Background
2.2.1 Accelerometer
An accelerometer is used to detect acceleration which is obtained by measuring
physical quantities proportional to the acceleration. The accelerometers treated
in this thesis are based on an implementation of mass-supporting springs. When
the accelerometer is exposed to a force, an internal mass is displaced. This dis-
placement is detected by small capacitive elements as a change in capacitance. An
outline of a MEMS Accelerometer is shown in Figure 2.1a.
(a)
ǻx
(b)
Figure 2.1. Outline of a resting MEMS accelerometer (a); MEMS accelerometer exposed
to an acceleration (b).
2.2 Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) 7
F = m · a. (2.1)
Hooke's Law [11] gives the relation between applied force and displacement:
F = −k · ∆x. (2.2)
By combining Newton's 2nd (Eq. 2.1) with Hooke's Law (Eq. 2.2) the following
relation between acceleration and displacement is obtained:
k
a=− · ∆x. (2.3)
m
The displacement ∆x in Figure 2.1b is obtained by measuring a proportional
capacitance. This capacitance is converted to a voltage level by a capacitance-to-
voltage converter based on the switched capacitor technique [3].
ǻx
2.2.2 Gyroscope
A MEMS gyroscope measures angular velocity. The angular velocity is obtained
by measuring physical quantities proportional to the angular velocity. MEMS
gyroscopes are similar to the MEMS accelerometers in the way that the output
signal is generated by a displaced mass. However, MEMS gyroscopes employ the
8 Background
Fc
v
M
Direction of Rotation Ȧ
ǻx
By combining Eq. 2.2 and Eq. 2.4 the following mathematical relation between
displacement and angular velocity is obtained:
2m(ω × v)
∆x = . (2.5)
k
The displacement ∆x is detected in the same way as described in Section 2.2.1.
Hence the output voltage is proportional to measured angular velocity.
A common way to remove eects from linear acceleration, such as gravitation, is to
use two sensing mechanisms. One with the internal mass oscillating in-phase and
the other out-of-phase. The dierence between the two output signals corresponds
to the angular velocity [7] [6].
DC
Pulse
Figure 2.4. Crosstalk between two adjacent signal lines: The DC is blocked by the
capacitive connection while the pulse travels across.
A good way to avoid noise of this type is to keep analogue lines as short as possible
while trying to separate routing of digital and analogue lines. A common way to
remove high frequency components from DC lines is to use decoupling capacitors.
10 Background
These capacitors block the DC signal while conducting high frequency components
to ground. This technique is not possible to use on other signals since a decou-
pling capacitor might remove important information [1]. Another way of reducing
crosstalk is to separate lines by a shield connected to ground, but in this case this
is not feasible due to limited physical space.
Thermal noise arises when electrons collide and is more often observable in long
signal lines [5]. Therefore, a good way of minimizing thermal noise is to keep the
signal lines as short as possible. Digital signals are not sensitive to small noise
components since digital information uses magnitude variations much greater than
the noise magnitude.
11
12 Designing a New Sensor
−0.85
−0.9
−0.95
[g]
−1
−1.05
−1.1
680 700 720 740 760 780 800 820 840 860 880 900
Sample no.
they make the algorithms used by the gait analysis system accumulate a large bias
error.
3.2.5 Bandwidth
The sensor should have a bandwidth of 100Hz on all channels.
This value was established by the developers at Hasomed GmbH after evaluating
tests on regular walk performed with the old sensor. A slower system might not
be able to detect short acceleration peaks. Such peaks are common when the foot
bumps into the ground during regular walk.
Quantization Precision
In this chapter the theoretical dierences between 12- and 16-bit quantization
are described. First, each sensor is described by a mathematical model. This is
followed by a description of the included signal sources, and nally, results from
the theoretical comparison are presented.
M I W QN
Mass / X +
S Y
+ + +
Spring
15
16 Quantization Precision
the source signal. Since there is mechanical noise (Section 2.3.1 of Chapter 2), a
noise source M is added to the model.
The Internal Electronics (Int. Electronics) block describes the internal conversion
from capacitance to voltage level (Section 2.2.1 of Chapter 2) and additional am-
plication (Section 2.3.2 of Chapter 2). This noise is represented by signal I.
The External Electronics (Ext. Electronics) block is situated between the MEMS
sensor and the analogue-to-digital converter (ADC). It consists of dierent ampli-
cation and ltering units. These are exposed to dierent noise sources such as
crosstalk and thermal noise (Section 2.3.2 of Chapter 2). This noise is represented
by signal W.
The quantization block is where the signal is converted to digital data. Since
the quantization is not optimal [4] some noise will be introduced (Section 2.3.3
of Chapter 2). This noise is represented by signal QN , where N is number of
quantization bits used.
M I QN
S Y
Mass / X
+ + +
Spring
The block denitions in Figure 4.2 are equal to those described in Section 4.1.1 of
this chapter. To illustrate the main dierence between the old and new sensor, the
block of external electronics (Ext. Electronics) has been removed in this gure.
This is due to the fact that amplication and ltering is carried out internally.
When this is done internally, it is possible to keep all analogue wires very short.
Short wires are subject to a lesser degree of crosstalk and thermal noise (Section
2.3.2 of Chapter 2). As mentioned above, the sum of I and M is known.
between these results was negligible. Noise can be considered as many small and
independent signal sources. A sum of such signals results in a normal distribution.
Hence, all signals in this simulation were modeled in this way.
M ∈ N (mM , σM ). (4.2)
I ∈ N (mI , σI ). (4.3)
∆ ∆
QN ∈ U N IF ORM (− , ). (4.5)
2 2
For linear quantization the variation of the quantization noise can be described by
[4]
2 ∆2
σQ = . (4.6)
12
For N bits and a peak-to-peak power of VP P this gives [4]
VP P
∆= (4.7)
2N
which inserted in 4.6 gives
2 ( V2PNP )2
σQ = . (4.8)
12
Quantization
QN
S YN EN
+ +
σY2
SN R = 10 · log 2 . (4.12)
σE
60
50
40
SNR [dB]
30
20
10
12−bit SNR:55.14
14−bit SNR:55.22
16−bit SNR:55.23
0
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
N−bit
Figure 4.4 shows resulting SNR for N bits used in the quantization. The results
reveal that the dierence between 16-bit and 12-bit quantization is only 0.08 dB.
60
50
40
SNR [dB]
30
20
10
12−bit SNR:52.19
14−bit SNR:52.23
16−bit SNR:52.24
0
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
N−bit
The dierence between 16-bit and 12-bit quantization is only 0.04 dB.
Results
This chapter presents results from tests performed on both the old and the new
sensor, as well as specications and new features of the new sensor.
The rst section describes how quantization precision aects the results from al-
gorithms used by the gait analysis system. In the second section, static noise from
both sensors is analyzed. The third and nal section describes how the new sensor
complies with the specication of requirements. New features of the new sensor
are also presented.
5.1.3 Algorithms
The nal step was performed by running selected algorithms on collected data.
The algorithms calculated covered distance for both 12- and 16-bit precision for
23
24 Results
each foot. An average covered distance by the right and the left foot was also
calculated. These results are presented in the following sections.
2.8 3.5
2.7
3
2.6
2.5
2.5
Error [%]
Error [%]
2.4 2
2.3
1.5
2.2
1
2.1
16−bit 16−bit
12−bit 12−bit
2 0.5
1 2 3 1 2 3
Simulation no. Simulation no.
(a) (b)
3
2.8
2.6
Error [%]
2.4
2.2
1.8
16−bit
12−bit
1.6
1 2 3
Simulation no.
(c)
Figure 5.1. Error in the calculated distance for the left (a) and the right (b) foot.
Average error is given in (c).
The resulting error of the calculated distance is shown in Figure 5.1. The dierence
between using 12- and 16-bit quantization is in the range of 0.1 percentage units,
which vindicates that 12-bit precision is sucient.
5.2.1 Gyroscopes
Figure 5.2 shows output signals from two gyroscopes from the old sensor and two
from the new sensor .
10 10
ωx ωx
8 8
6 6
4 4
2 2
[°/s]
[°/s]
0 0
−2 −2
−4 −4
−6 −6
−8 −8
−10 −10
200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Sample No Sample no.
(a) (b)
10 10
ωy ωy
8 8
6 6
4 4
2 2
[°/s]
[°/s]
0 0
−2 −2
−4 −4
−6 −6
−8 −8
−10 −10
200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Sample No Sample no.
(c) (d)
Figure 5.2. Gyroscope representing ωx in the old sensor (a) and the new (b). Gyroscope
representing ωy in the old sensor (c) and the new (d).
The small peaks which appear in Figures 5.2a and 5.2c are not present in Figures
5.2b and 5.2d, because the new sensor was designed to minimize this undesired
characteristic.
26 Results
The static noise level in the new sensor, for the ωx axis , is approximately 1.149
dB lower than in the old sensor. For the ωy axis, the dierence is 4.2978 dB. This
corresponds to a reduction of approximately 30% and 50% respectively.
By studying the power spectral density (PSD) in Figures 5.3a and 5.3b, it is
conrmed that high frequency components are reduced in the new sensor.
2
Old Sensor
New Sensor
−2
Power Spectrum Magnitude (dB)
−4
−6
−8
−10
−12
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Frequency
(a)
5
Old Sensor
New Sensor
0
Power Spectrum Magnitude (dB)
−5
−10
−15
−20
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Frequency
(b)
Figure 5.3. Power spectral density for ωx (a) and ωy (b).
5.3 Compliance with the Requirements 27
• Acceleration of ±4g
Devices were selected and tuned such that the sensor was able to handle following
physical ranges:
• Acceleration of ±5g
28 Results
5.3.5 Bandwidth
The sensor should have a bandwidth of 100Hz on all channels.
Devices were selected and tuned to comply with this requirement. By replacing a
few passive components, it is possible to change the bandwidth.
Conclusion
Research and development presented in this thesis resulted in a sensor with good
performance and convenient features. In the following sections, the main dier-
ences between the old and new sensor are described.
31
32 Conclusion
[10] Sune Söderkvist and L.E Ahnell. Tidsdiskreta Signaler och System. Tryckeriet
Erik Larsson AB, 1994.
[11] Richard Wolfson and Jay M. Pasacho. Physics with modern physics. Harper-
CollinsCollegePublishers, 2nd edition, 1995. ISBN 0-06-501015-7.
33
34 Bibliography
Appendix A
Simulations
Results from each simulation are divided into three tables. The rst table, Table
A.Xa, holds the name and date of the measurement, used sample frequency and
distance measured with the measuring-tape. In the second table, Table A.Xb,
calculated distance as well as dierence between measured and calculated distance
for each foot is shown. The third and last table, Table A.Xc, shows an average of
both calculated distance and dierence between measured and calculated distance
for both feet.
A.1 Simulation 1
16-bit 12-bit
Measurement Anonymous1 Anonymous1_12bit
Date 2005-12-05 2005-12-05
Sample Frequency [Hz] 500 500
Length [m] 20 20
(a)
Left Right
16-bit 12-bit 16-bit 12-bit
Length [m] 20.5348 20.5211 20.2053 20.1646
Length Error [%] 2.6739 2.6057 1.0265 0.82292
(b)
16-bit 12-bit
Average Length [m] 20.37 20.3429
Error [%] 1.8502 1.7143
(c)
Table A.1. Simulation info (a); Error for each foot (b); Average error of both feet (c)
35
36 Simulations
A.2 Simulation 2
16-bit 12-bit
Measurement Anonymous2 Anonymous2_12bit
Date 2005-01-09 2005-01-09
Sample Frequency 500Hz 500Hz
Length 20.08m 20.08m
(a)
Left Right
16-bit 12-bit 16-bit 12-bit
Length [m] 20.5118 20.4949 20.7221 20.662
Length Error [%] 2.1506 2.066 3.1979 2.8984
(b)
16-bit 12-bit
Average Length 20.617 20.5784
Error [%] 2.6743 2.4822
(c)
Table A.2. Simulation info (a); Error for each foot (b); Average error of both feet (c)
A.3 Simulation 3
16-bit 12-bit
Measurement Anonymous1 Anonymous1_12bit
Date 2005-12-05 2005-12-05
Sample Frequency [Hz] 500 500
Length [m] 20 20
(a)
Left Right
16-bit 12-bit 16-bit 12-bit
Length [m] 20.5348 20.5211 20.2053 20.1646
Length Error [%] 2.6739 2.6057 1.0265 0.82292
(b)
16-bit 12-bit
Average Length [m] 20.37 20.3429
Error [%] 1.8502 1.7143
(c)
Table A.3. Simulation info (a); Error for each foot (b); Average error of both feet (c)
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