Post on 29-Mar-2015
Measurement of forces directly for immediate
feedback to athletes and coaches
D. Gordon E. Robertson, PhD
Emeritus Professor
School of Human Kinetics
Forces and Moments of Force (Torques)
• External forces– Ground reaction forces– Hand & grip forces or forces in sticks, bats, oars, paddles– Foot forces in pedals, foot stretchers (e.g., rowing)– Impact forces from hand, foot, or body
• Internal forces (not realistic for sports)– In muscles– In bones or other tissues
External Forces: Ground Reaction
• Usually measured by commercially purchased force platforms– Load cells - measure only 1, 2, or 3, components of a force,
no centre of pressure, e.g., instrumented starting blocks– Single pedestal - inexpensive, inaccurate, poor frequency
response– Three or four columns – expensive, large (3 corners) or
largest (4 corners) area of accuracy, higher frequency response
External Forces: Ground Reaction
• Feedback can be real-time or delayed (shown shortly after force application), e.g., posture studies, pistol & rifle shooting, lifting
• Can be used for later inverse dynamics analysis• Directly determine jump heights (vertical jumps, broad jumps) or
starting velocity (sprints)
External Forces:Hand & Implement Forces
• Force transducers can be purchased and installed in implements (tennis racquets, bat, hockey sticks)
• Strain gauge transducers can be affixed to implements (paddles, oars, …)
baseball bat
walker
hockey stick rowing rigger
External Forces:Foot & Pedal Forces
• Crank or pedal force transducers can be purchased commercially or constructed from strain gauge sensors
• Force platforms can be modified to fit under feet (e.g., rowing)• Smaller load cells can be placed under feet
External Forces:Impact Forces
• Many varieties of load cells, piezoelectric transducers, strain gauge transducers are available
• Install in appropriate site: ground, wall, bag• Pressure mapping sensors are possible for lighter forces
Internal Forces:Muscle and Bone Forces
• Types:– Buckle- transducer on tendon– Tendon strain gauge
• Highly invasive• Only one muscle (usually) at a time• Not ethical in most countries except
on cadavers
Measurement Systems for Forces
• some or all of the following items form a measurement system• input transducer can be strain gauges, LVDTs, Hall effect, etc.• for strain gauge transducers a bridge amplifier is usually the
signal conditioner
Auxillary powersupply
Calibrationsignal
Measuredsignal
Inputtransducer
Signalconditioner
Outputtransducer
Input powersource
Feedback
Input signal Output signalTransduced signal
Strain Gauge Transducer:Characteristics
• Inexpensive• Need external power source, batteries can be used• For field use needs portable recording device or telemetry• Types:
– tension/compression - useful for push or pull forces– bending moment - often used in strength testing equipment– torque - useful for forearm torque or cycling sports
• Customizable - can be built into existing equipment (racquets, oars, bats, sticks, etc.)
• Can be synchronized with motion capture for later inverse dynamics analysis
• Easy to have real-time display for immediate feedback
Strain Gauge Transducer:Wheatstone Bridge
VDC = constant DC voltage or battery
Vout = output voltage for display or recording
Ra, Rb, Rc, Rd = strain gauges or dummy (resistors)
• Should use full bridges (4 strain gauges) for best temperature compensation
• Most designs use at least two active gauges. Some designs permit four active gauges. Poisson gauges reduce cross-talk.
• Need separate circuits for each direction
Ra
Supply voltage (VDC)
Voltage detectoror meter
Wheatstonebridge
Vout
RcRd
Rb
Strain Gauge Transducer:Strain Gauges
• Characteristics:– resistance: 120, 350, 1000 ohm– size depends on application– many shapes (linear, bilinear (top
left), roseate)– preferably with leads
schematicof uniaxial
gauge
Strain Gauge Transducer:Bridge Amplifiers
NI four channel bridge amp
single channel amp with filtering
• can be made portable• multichannel• autobalancing• filtering may be included
Strain Gauge Transducer:Output
• multimeter and oscilloscope are helpful for testing and calibration
• direct to A/D of computer• for real-time output use an
oscilloscope, monitor, or
computer display (latter can
be too slow)
multimeter storage oscilloscope
computer monitor
Strain Gauge Transducer:Examples
• ski pole (compression)
• knee brace (bending)
• oar lock pin (bending)
Ra RdRcRb
Strain Gauge Transducers:Types
• tension/compression– useful for push or pull forces
• bending moment– often used in strength testing
equipment
• torque– useful for forearm torque
Ra Rb
RcRd
VoutVin
RdRb
RcRa
F
Rd
Rb
Rc
RaF
Strain Gauge Transducers:Types
• Strain ring– tension/compression only– all four gauges are active
• S-type– tension/compression only– all four gauges are active
RdRa RbRc
FRdRa Rb
Rc
F
Rd
Rb
Rc
Ra
F
Strain Gauge Transducers:In Gjessing Rowing Ergometer
• Cam to simulate rowing stroke
• Brake to apply constant workload
• Strain link– measures
pulling/pushing force
• Optical sensor– for counting
flywheel rotations
Strain Gauge Transducers:Pedal Transducers
• Crank transducers– problem with wires becoming twisted– need tension/compression and
bending moment circuits• Pedal transducers
– more difficult to construct– need load and sheer circuits 2D force)
• Torque transducer (bottom bracket)
Strain Gauge Transducers:Calibration of Tension/Compression
• Setup for load cells, strain rings of links
• Weights should not be lifted off of platform
• Platform is zeroed with weights on (tare)
strain ringtransducer
cable or chain
holder and clampfor weights
weights
force platform
lift weighs here
Strain Gauge Transducers:Calibration of Bending Moment
• Setup for oars, paddles, etc.
• Need to measure distance between load and fulcrum
• Use this to compute actual moment of force sensed by transducer
transducer
force platform
push/pull hereoar/paddle
fulcrum
Strain Gauge Transducers:Sensitivity
• relationship between applied force and output voltage of transducer (newtons/volt)
• should be linear within expected range of loads• hysteresis typically <1%• input signal units are newtons• output signal is in volts
Loading
Unloading
Sensitivity = Rise/Run
Rise
Run
Output signal
Input signal
Line of best fit
Hysteresis
Summary
• Strengths– relatively inexpensive especially compared to motion
capture– portable enough for field research– can be most important result of a performance– direct measure therefore easy to validate and understand– real-time feedback possible
• Weaknesses– limited information about how a motion was produced– can impede true execution of a performance– requires frequent calibration, breakable– not applicable to all types of skills (aquatics, soccer,
wrestling, …)
Questions? Comments?
www.humankineticswww.health.uottawa.ca/biomech/watbiom
Finis
Muchas Gracias