Preferred Placement and Usability of a Smart Textile System vs. Inertial Measurement Units for Activity Monitoring
Wearable sensors and systems have become increasingly popular in recent years. Two prominent wearable technologies for human activity monitoring are smart textile systems (STSs) and inertial measurement units (IMUs). Despite ongoing advances in both, the usability aspects of these devices require fu...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2018-08-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/8/2501 |
| _version_ | 1811187599388180480 |
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| author | Mohammad Iman Mokhlespour Esfahani Maury A. Nussbaum |
| author_facet | Mohammad Iman Mokhlespour Esfahani Maury A. Nussbaum |
| author_sort | Mohammad Iman Mokhlespour Esfahani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Wearable sensors and systems have become increasingly popular in recent years. Two prominent wearable technologies for human activity monitoring are smart textile systems (STSs) and inertial measurement units (IMUs). Despite ongoing advances in both, the usability aspects of these devices require further investigation, especially to facilitate future use. In this study, 18 participants evaluate the preferred placement and usability of two STSs, along with a comparison to a commercial IMU system. These evaluations are completed after participants engaged in a range of activities (e.g., sitting, standing, walking, and running), during which they wear two representatives of smart textile systems: (1) a custom smart undershirt (SUS) and commercial smart socks; and (2) a commercial whole-body IMU system. We first analyze responses regarding the usability of the STS, and subsequently compared these results to those for the IMU system. Participants identify a short-sleeved shirt as their preferred activity monitor. In additional, the SUS in combination with the smart socks is rated superior to the IMU system in several aspects of usability. As reported herein, STSs show promise for future applications in human activity monitoring in terms of usability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:06:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ad0bdcf1112d48f98cee099fbdf1aa0d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:06:09Z |
| publishDate | 2018-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-ad0bdcf1112d48f98cee099fbdf1aa0d2022-12-22T04:19:53ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202018-08-01188250110.3390/s18082501s18082501Preferred Placement and Usability of a Smart Textile System vs. Inertial Measurement Units for Activity MonitoringMohammad Iman Mokhlespour Esfahani0Maury A. Nussbaum1Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USADepartment of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USAWearable sensors and systems have become increasingly popular in recent years. Two prominent wearable technologies for human activity monitoring are smart textile systems (STSs) and inertial measurement units (IMUs). Despite ongoing advances in both, the usability aspects of these devices require further investigation, especially to facilitate future use. In this study, 18 participants evaluate the preferred placement and usability of two STSs, along with a comparison to a commercial IMU system. These evaluations are completed after participants engaged in a range of activities (e.g., sitting, standing, walking, and running), during which they wear two representatives of smart textile systems: (1) a custom smart undershirt (SUS) and commercial smart socks; and (2) a commercial whole-body IMU system. We first analyze responses regarding the usability of the STS, and subsequently compared these results to those for the IMU system. Participants identify a short-sleeved shirt as their preferred activity monitor. In additional, the SUS in combination with the smart socks is rated superior to the IMU system in several aspects of usability. As reported herein, STSs show promise for future applications in human activity monitoring in terms of usability.http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/8/2501smart textile systeminertial measurement unitwearable sensorusabilityplacementsmart shirtsmart socks |
| spellingShingle | Mohammad Iman Mokhlespour Esfahani Maury A. Nussbaum Preferred Placement and Usability of a Smart Textile System vs. Inertial Measurement Units for Activity Monitoring Sensors smart textile system inertial measurement unit wearable sensor usability placement smart shirt smart socks |
| title | Preferred Placement and Usability of a Smart Textile System vs. Inertial Measurement Units for Activity Monitoring |
| title_full | Preferred Placement and Usability of a Smart Textile System vs. Inertial Measurement Units for Activity Monitoring |
| title_fullStr | Preferred Placement and Usability of a Smart Textile System vs. Inertial Measurement Units for Activity Monitoring |
| title_full_unstemmed | Preferred Placement and Usability of a Smart Textile System vs. Inertial Measurement Units for Activity Monitoring |
| title_short | Preferred Placement and Usability of a Smart Textile System vs. Inertial Measurement Units for Activity Monitoring |
| title_sort | preferred placement and usability of a smart textile system vs inertial measurement units for activity monitoring |
| topic | smart textile system inertial measurement unit wearable sensor usability placement smart shirt smart socks |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/8/2501 |
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