PFI-TT: Wearable Strain Sensors for Real-Time Joint Angle Tracking in Sports

该创新技术转化合作伙伴关系（PFI-TT）项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是在体育运动中实现运动跟踪。所提出的技术可以补充，并在某些情况下取代现有的可穿戴全球定位系统（GPS）和惯性传感器。特别地，关节运动学对于许多运动至关重要。在短期内，可穿戴传感技术的这一创新将为跟踪运动中的关节运动提供准确、无线、不显眼、可清洗和可靠的解决方案。从长远来看，除了运动性能监测外，可穿戴关节运动跟踪器还可以实现广泛的新可穿戴应用，如人类活动和健康监测、人机界面、假肢和机器人技术。本项目的教育/领导力培养计划为研究生和本科生提供跨学科领域的培训，包括实施和企业家精神，以及技术转让和商业化的经验。拟议项目旨在开发一种可穿戴系统，用于使用基于银纳米线的可拉伸应变传感器直接跟踪关节角度。所提出的可穿戴关节运动跟踪方法可以胜任地解决若干挑战。首先，所提出的基于MEMS的可穿戴传感器是机械可拉伸的并且穿戴舒适。 第二，电容感测允许在宽应变范围内的快速响应时间、低滞后和恒定应变计因子。 第三，规模化制造和与纺织品的整合是可行的。这项技术将满足日益增长的对精确和不引人注目的人体关节运动监测的需求。这个PFI技术开发和商业化项目将传感器与各种运动纺织品/胶带和其他组件集成在一起，以开发可穿戴系统，开发数据分析以处理连续数据流并传达性能信息，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is in enabling motion tracking in sports. The proposed technology can be complementary to, and in some cases replace, the existing wearable global positioning system (GPS) and inertial sensors. In particular, joint kinematics is of critical importance for many sports. In the near term, this innovation in wearable sensing technology will provide an accurate, wireless, unobtrusive, launderable, and reliable solution to track joint motions in sports. In the long term, in addition to sports performance monitoring, the wearable joint motion trackers could enable a broad range of new wearable applications such as human activity and health monitoring, human-machine interfaces, prosthetics, and robotics. The educational/leadership development plan of this project provides the graduate and undergraduate students with training in interdisciplinary areas including implementation and business entrepreneurship as well as experience in technology transfer and commercialization.The proposed project seeks to develop a wearable system for directly tracking joint angles using stretchable strain sensors based on silver nanowires. The proposed wearable joint motion tracking method may competently address several challenges. First, the proposed nanowire-based wearable sensors are mechanically stretchable and comfortable to wear. Second, the capacitive sensing allows for fast response time, low hysteresis, and constant gauge factor over a wide strain range. Third, scalable manufacturing and integration with textiles are feasible. This technology will fill the increasing need for accurate and unobtrusive monitoring of human joint motions. This PFI technology development and commercialization project integrates the sensors with a variety of sports textiles/tapes and other components to develop wearable systems, to develop data analytics to process continuous data streams and communicate performance information, and to test and evaluate the wearable system in athletic training.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.