This project looks at posture identification using integrated sensor nodes that include accelerometers. This will be used as part of a wireless body sensor network which will be applied to wearers of a bomb disposal (EOD) suit in order to help them to feel more comfortable than currently possible [12]. Due of the nature of the missions, thick heavy materials protect the wearer, which means they must be provided with a cooling system. In order to provide good cooling, it is desirable to track the posture of the wearer and only apply cooling when it will be effective, allowing the life of the batteries that power the fan to be extended. The overarching project looks at monitoring a variety of bodily parameters within a bomb disposal suit, including skin temperature and posture, to ensure suitable cooling actuation, of which this report focuses on the posture aspect.

Tracking posture presents many challenges due of the large number of degrees of freedom of the human body. One advantage of the system presented here is that it allows an unconstrained environment for the wearer Due a wireless sensor network is used, which is small and light and doesn’t require the level of cabling needed for a traditional wired system. Eight basic positions will be identified by this system: standing, kneeling, sitting, crawling, walking, laying down on front and back, and laying on one side. An example implementation is presented showing the working system identifying the posture in real time.