Wireless vibration monitoring on human machine operator

Abstract

Human machine operators are often subject to extreme shocks and vibrations while operating production machines and vehicles. To assess the impact on perceived comfort objectively, a wireless vibration monitoring system is needed that measures whole-body vibrations directly on the human body. To this end, we have developed a wireless body area network consisting of low-power vibration sensor nodes that have a small and ergonomic form factor and that are easy to install. Furthermore, we have validated the BAN along with the necessary post-processing of the raw vibration signals on a real industrial case, i.e. the driver of a forklift. Our system proves to be instrumental in optimizing critical tuning parameters of a machine, exemplified by the transmission control parameters of a forklift.