Development of an Inexpensive Sensor Network for Recognition of Sitting Posture

The aim of this work is the development of a network of wireless devices to determine, along with a time-stamp, postural changes of users that are to be used in personalized learning environments. For this purpose, we have designed a basic low-cost pressure sensor that can be built from components e...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ricardo Barba, Ángel P. de Madrid, Jesús G. Boticario
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi - SAGE Publishing 2015-08-01
Series:International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/969237
Description
Summary:The aim of this work is the development of a network of wireless devices to determine, along with a time-stamp, postural changes of users that are to be used in personalized learning environments. For this purpose, we have designed a basic low-cost pressure sensor that can be built from components easily available. Several of these basic sensors (of sizes and shapes chosen specifically for the task) are integrated into a posture sensor cushion, which is electronically controlled by an Arduino microcontroller board. This accounts for experiments involving either a single cushion to be used by an individual end-user setting approach or classroom approaches where several of these cushions make up a sensor network via ZigBee wireless connections. The system thus formed is an excellent alternative to other more expensive commercial systems and provides a low-cost, easy-to-use, portable, scalable, autonomous, flexible solution with free hardware and software, which can be integrated with other sensing devices into a larger affect detection system, customizable to cope with postural changes at required time intervals and support single and collective oriented experimentation approaches.
ISSN:1550-1477