Performance Evaluation of Monocular Markerless Pose Estimation Systems for Industrial Exoskeletons
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Industrial exoskeletons (a.k.a. wearable robots) have been developed to reduce musculoskeletal fatigue and work injuries. Human joint kinematics and human-robot alignment are important measurements in understanding the effects of industrial exoskeletons. Recently, markerless pose estimation systems based on monocular color (red, green, blue-RGB) and depth cameras are being used to estimate human joint positions. This study analyzes the performance of monocular markerless pose estimation systems on human skeletal joint estimation while wearing exoskeletons. Two pose estimation systems producing RGB and depth images from ten viewpoints are evaluated for one subject in 14 industrial poses. The experiment was repeated for three different types of exoskeletons on the same subject. An optical tracking system (OTS) was used as a reference system. The image acceptance rate was 56% for the RGB, 22% for the depth, and 78% for the OTS pose estimation system. The key sources of pose estimation error were the occlusions from the exoskeletons, industrial poses, and viewpoints. The reference system showed decreased performance when the optical markers were occluded by the exoskeleton or when the markers' position shifted with the exoskeleton. This study performs a systematic comparison of two types of monocular markerless pose estimation systems and an optical tracking system, as well as a proposed metric, based on a tracking quality ratio, to assess whether a skeletal joint estimation would be acceptable for human kinematics analysis in exoskeleton studies.
Source: Sensors
DOI: 10.3390/s25092877
Authors: Soocheol Yoon, Ya-Shian Li-Baboud, Ann Virts, Roger Bostelman, Mili Shah, Nishat Ahmed
Language: English
Subfield: Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
Awards: PURPOSE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE UNDERGRADUATE/GRADUATE RESEARCHERS, INDIVIDUALS WITH BACHELORS OR MASTER'S DEGREES, POST-DOCTORAL ASSOCIATES, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOWS AND ACADEMIC AFFILIATES WITH FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO OBTAIN LABORATORY EXPERIENCES AND AID IN DEVELOPING COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH RELATIONSHIPS WITH NIST STAFF WITHIN THE NIST BOULDER LABORATORY.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: PREP SEEKS TO ENCOURAGE THE GROWTH AND PROGRESS OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IN THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF WOMEN AND MINORITY RESEARCHERS SEEKING TO FURTHER THEIR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND TO NURTURE RESEARCHERS AND POST-DOCTORAL ASSOCIATES CONSIDERED TO BE POTENTIAL FUTURE NIST EMPLOYEES.EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PREP PROGRAM ARE TO: 1) ENCOURAGE THE GROWTH AND PROGRESS OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IN THE UNITED STATES BY PROVIDING RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR PREP RESEARCHERS WITH NIST SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS AND EXPOSING THEM TO CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D); 2) PROMOTE THE PURSUIT OF DEGREES OR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AS APPLICABLE, FOR PREP RESEARCHERS; AND 3) PROMOTE DIVERSITY AND EQUITY IN STEM.INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: NIST AND NIST RESEARCHERS, AND UNDERGRADUATE/GRADUATE RESEARCHERS, INDIVIDUALS WITH BACHELORS OR MASTER'S DEGREES, POST-DOCTORAL ASSOCIATES, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOWS AND ACADEMIC AFFILIATES, EMPLOYED BY OR AFFILIATED WITH THE UNIVERSITIES.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: THE RECIPIENT DOES NOT INTEND TO SUBAWARD FUNDS., PURPOSE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO BUILD AND IMPLEMENT LOW-COST, OPEN-SOURCE, MOBILE TOOLS FOR EVALUATING HOW WEARING AN EXOSKELETON AFFECTS THE HUMAN BODY, AS WELL AS CREATING MATHEMATICAL METHODS TO COMPARE THE OUTPUT OF THE TOOLS WITH GROUND TRUTH RESULTS OBTAINED AT NIST. THESE MOBILE TOOLS MAY BE USED TO VALIDATE TEST METHODS (FIT-TO-USER TESTS). ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: THE GRANTEE WILL BUILD LOW-COST, OPEN-SOURCE, MOBILE TOOLS BASED ON 1) CAMERAS AND 2) TEXTILES THAT HELP ANALYZE THE FIT OF A GIVEN EXOSKELETON, AS WELL AS 3) CREATING MATHEMATICAL METHODS TO EVALUATE HOW ACCURATE THESE TOOLS ARE COMPARED TO GROUND TRUTH SYSTEMS. EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THIS GRANT WILL PRODUCE A WEARABLE LOW-COST ELECTRONIC TEXTILE TO BE INTEGRATED INTO COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE EXOSKELETONS AS A WAY TO ACCURATELY MEASURE THE FIT TO THE USER. INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: THE BENEFICIARIES WILL INCLUDE MANUFACTURERS OF EXOSKELETONS TO VALIDATE THEIR PRODUCTS BEFORE GOING TO MARKET AND END USERS WHO WILL USE THE RESULTING TEST METHODS TO GUIDE PROCUREMENTS AND FIT OF EXOSKELETONS TO USERS. SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: THE RECIPIENT DOES NOT INTEND TO SUBAWARD FUNDS., G8044067015, G8236303175
OpenAlex ID: W4410040484