Multi-purpose whole-body vibration measurement and evaluation system

Abstract

The minimization of health risks associated with regular and continuous exposure to mechanical vibration has been taken into account in the EU directive 2002/44/EC. Employers are responsible for estimating the daily vibration exposure of an employee based, preferably on measurements. The objective of this article is to describe a comprehensive system designed for long-term whole-body vibration measurements as well as for serving research related needs. The system architecture comprises wireless and wired sensor units, a data acquisition and processing unit and also ubiquitous access to the remote server enabling continuous observation. The execution of calculation algorithms associated with the evaluation of WBV was defined as a priority task. Wireless approaches were applied to enable a practical way to further transfer measured data. To increase the flexibility and versatility of the system, a modular structure equipped with appropriate interfaces such as CAN and Zigbee, was adopted. Long-term measurement also creates certain constraints for the vibration sensing method. Thus, possible substitutes for the uncomfortable standardized method were studied. The architecture was designed keeping in mind an option to modify it for various applications outside WBV research such as health care and wellbeing.