An Evaluation of Motion Trackers with Virtual Reality Sensor Technology in Comparison to a Marker-Based Motion Capture System Based on Joint Angles for Ergonomic Risk Assessment

Division Hearing, Speech and Audio Technology HSA, Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT, Marie-Curie-Str. 2, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany

Department of Mathematics and Technology, University of Applied Sciences Koblenz, Joseph-Rovan-Allee 2, 53424 Remagen, Germany

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Sport and Exercise Science Research Centre, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, UK

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Halocline GmbH & Co. KG, Netter Platz 3, 49090 Osnabrück, Germany

⁶

Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabrück, Wachsbleiche 27, 49090 Osnabrück, Germany

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Institute of Neurophysiology und Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: Marco Iosa

Sensors 2021, 21(9), 3145; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21093145

Received: 31 March 2021 / Revised: 18 April 2021 / Accepted: 26 April 2021 / Published: 1 May 2021

(This article belongs to the Collection Sensors for Gait, Human Movement Analysis, and Health Monitoring)

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Abstract

The reproduction and simulation of workplaces, and the analysis of body postures during work processes, are parts of ergonomic risk assessments. A commercial virtual reality (VR) system offers the possibility to model complex work scenarios as virtual mock-ups and to evaluate their ergonomic designs by analyzing motion behavior while performing work processes. In this study a VR tracking sensor system (HTC Vive tracker) combined with an inverse kinematic model (Final IK) was compared with a marker-based optical motion capture system (Qualisys). Marker-based optical motion capture systems are considered the gold standard for motion analysis. Therefore, Qualisys was used as the ground truth in this study. The research question to be answered was how accurately the HTC Vive System combined with Final IK can measure joint angles used for ergonomic evaluation. Twenty-six subjects were observed simultaneously with both tracking systems while performing 20 defined movements. Sixteen joint angles were analyzed. Joint angle deviations between

\pm 6^{\circ}

and

\pm 42^{\circ}

were identified. These high deviations must be considered in ergonomic risk assessments when using a VR system. The results show that commercial low-budget tracking systems have the potential to map joint angles. Nevertheless, substantial weaknesses and inaccuracies in some body regions must be taken into account. Recommendations are provided to improve tracking accuracy and avoid systematic errors. View Full-Text

Keywords: Qualisys Oqus; HTC Vive; accuracy; virtual reality; lighthouse technology; system comparison; joint angles; motion capture; ergonomic risk assessment

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MDPI and ACS Style

Vox, J.P.; Weber, A.; Wolf, K.I.; Izdebski, K.; Schüler, T.; König, P.; Wallhoff, F.; Friemert, D. An Evaluation of Motion Trackers with Virtual Reality Sensor Technology in Comparison to a Marker-Based Motion Capture System Based on Joint Angles for Ergonomic Risk Assessment. Sensors 2021, 21, 3145. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21093145

AMA Style

Vox JP, Weber A, Wolf KI, Izdebski K, Schüler T, König P, Wallhoff F, Friemert D. An Evaluation of Motion Trackers with Virtual Reality Sensor Technology in Comparison to a Marker-Based Motion Capture System Based on Joint Angles for Ergonomic Risk Assessment. Sensors. 2021; 21(9):3145. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21093145

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vox, Jan P., Anika Weber, Karen I. Wolf, Krzysztof Izdebski, Thomas Schüler, Peter König, Frank Wallhoff, and Daniel Friemert. 2021. "An Evaluation of Motion Trackers with Virtual Reality Sensor Technology in Comparison to a Marker-Based Motion Capture System Based on Joint Angles for Ergonomic Risk Assessment" Sensors 21, no. 9: 3145. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21093145

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