Lower body kinematics estimation from wearable sensors for walking and running: A deep learning approach.

Background: Inertial measurement units (IMUs) are promising tools for collecting human movement data. Model-based filtering approaches (e.g. Extended Kalman Filter) have been proposed to estimate joint angles from IMUs data but little is known about the potential of data-driven approaches.

Research Question: Can deep learning models accurately predict lower limb joint angles from IMU data during gait?

Methods: Lower-limb kinematic data were simultaneously measured with a marker-based motion capture system and running leggings with 5 integrated IMUs measuring acceleration and angular velocity at the pelvis, thighs and tibias. Data acquisition was performed on 27 participants (26.5 (3.9) years, 1.75 (0.07) m, 68.3 (10.0) kg) while walking at 4 and 6 km/h and running at 8, 10, 12 and 14 km/h on a treadmill. The model input consists of raw IMU data, while the output estimates the joint angles of the lower body. The model was trained with a nested k-fold cross-validation and tested considering a user-independent approach. Mean error (ME), mean absolute error (MAE) and Pearson correlation coefficient (r) were computed between the ground truth and predicted joint angles.

Results: MAE for the DOFs ranged from 2.2(0.9) to 5.1(2.7)° with an average of 3.6(2.1)°. r ranged from 0.67(0.23) to 0.99(0.01) with moderate correlation (0.4≤r<0.7) was found for the hip right rotation and lumbar extension, strong correlation (0.7≤r<0.9) was found for the hip left rotation and ankle right/left inversion while all other DOFs showed very strong correlation (r≥0.9).

Significance: The proposed model can reliably predict joint kinematics for walking, running and gait transitions without specific knowledge about the body characteristics of the wearer, or the position and orientation of the IMU relative to the attached segment. These results have been validated with treadmill gait, and have not yet been confirmed for gait in other settings.