title: How Angular Velocity Features and Different Gyroscope Noise Types Interact and Determine Orientation Estimation Accuracy.
abstract: In human movement analysis, 3D body segment orientation can be obtained through the numerical integration of gyroscope signals. These signals, however, are affected by errors that, for the case of micro-electro-mechanical systems, are mainly due to: constant bias, scale factor, white noise, and bias instability. The aim of this study is to assess how the orientation estimation accuracy is affected by each of these disturbances, and whether it is influenced by the angular velocity magnitude and 3D distribution across the gyroscope axes. Reference angular velocity signals, either constant or representative of human walking, were corrupted with each of the four noise types within a simulation framework. The magnitude of the angular velocity affected the error in the orientation estimation due to each noise type, except for the white noise. Additionally, the error caused by the constant bias was also influenced by the angular velocity 3D distribution. As the orientation error depends not only on the noise itself but also on the signal it is applied to, different sensor placements could enhance or mitigate the error due to each disturbance, and special attention must be paid in providing and interpreting measures of accuracy for orientation estimation algorithms.
authors.affiliation: Interuniversity Center of Bioengineering of the Human Neuromusculoskeletal System, Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico", Piazza Lauro de Bosis 15, 00135 Roma, Italy. ilaria.pasciuto@uniroma4.it.
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pasciuto
authors.affiliation: The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, 56124 Pisa, Italy. g.ligorio@sssup.it.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ligorio
authors.affiliation: Interuniversity Center of Bioengineering of the Human Neuromusculoskeletal System, Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico", Piazza Lauro de Bosis 15, 00135 Roma, Italy. elena.bergamini@uniroma4.it.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bergamini
authors.affiliation: Interuniversity Center of Bioengineering of the Human Neuromusculoskeletal System, Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico", Piazza Lauro de Bosis 15, 00135 Roma, Italy. giuseppe.vannozzi@uniroma4.it.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vannozzi
authors.affiliation: The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, 56124 Pisa, Italy. angelo.sabatini@sssup.it.
authors.forename: Angelo Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Sabatini
authors.affiliation: Interuniversity Center of Bioengineering of the Human Neuromusculoskeletal System, Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico", Piazza Lauro de Bosis 15, 00135 Roma, Italy. aurelio.cappozzo@uniroma4.it.
authors.forename: Aurelio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cappozzo
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009068:Movement; D010388:Pelvis / Q000502:physiology; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted
keywords: 3D orientation; MEMS gyroscopes; biomechanics; gait; human; inertial sensors; motion analysis; noise sources; numerical integration