Intelligent Knee Sleeves: A Real-time Multimodal Dataset for 3D Lower Body Motion Estimation Using Smart Textile

The kinematics of human movements and locomotion are closely linked to the activation and contractions of muscles. To investigate this, we present a multimodal dataset with benchmarks collected using a novel pair of Intelligent Knee Sleeves (Texavie MarsWear Knee Sleeves) for human pose estimation. Our system utilizes synchronized datasets that comprise time-series data from the Knee Sleeves and the corresponding ground truth labels from the visualized motion capture camera system. We employ these to generate 3D human models solely based on the wearable data of individuals performing different activities. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this camera-free system and machine learning algorithms in the assessment of various movements and exercises, including extension to unseen exercises and individuals. The results show an average error of 7.21 degrees across all eight lower body joints when compared to the ground truth, indicating the effectiveness and reliability of the Knee Sleeve system for the prediction of different lower body joints beyond the knees. The results enable human pose estimation in a seamless manner without being limited by visual occlusion or the field of view of cameras. Our results show the potential of multimodal wearable sensing in a variety of applications from home fitness to sports, healthcare, and physical rehabilitation focusing on pose and movement estimation.Comment: Accepted by Thirty-seventh Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (Neurips) D&B Trac

Cryptanalysis of two recent ultra-lightweight authentication protocols

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is a critical part of many Internet of Things (IoT) systems, including Medical IoT (MIoT) for instance. On the other hand, the IoT devices’ numerous limitations (such as memory space, computing capability, and battery capacity) make it difficult to implement cost- and energy-efficient security solutions. As a result, several researchers attempted to address this problem, and several RFID-based security mechanisms for the MIoT and other constrained environments were proposed. In this vein, Wang et al. and Shariq et al. recently proposed CRUSAP and ESRAS ultra-lightweight authentication schemes. They demonstrated, both formally and informally, that their schemes meet the required security properties for RFID systems. In their proposed protocols, they have used a very lightweight operation called Cro(·) and Rank(·), respectively. However, in this paper, we show that those functions are not secure enough to provide the desired security. We show that Cro(·) is linear and reversible, and it is easy to obtain the secret values used in its calculation. Then, by exploiting the vulnerability of the Cro(·) function, we demonstrated that CRUSAP is vulnerable to secret disclosure attacks. The proposed attack has a success probability of "1" and is as simple as a CRUSAP protocol run. Other security attacks are obviously possible by obtaining the secret values of the tag and reader. In addition, we present a de-synchronization attack on the CRUSAP protocol. Furthermore, we provide a thorough examination of ESRAS and its Rank(·) function. We first present a de-synchronization attack that works for any desired Rank(·) function, including Shariq et al.’s proposed Rank(·) function. We also show that Rank(·) does not provide the desired confusion and diffusion that is claimed by the designers. Finally, we conduct a secret disclosure attack against ESRAS

Novel Flexible Wearable Sensor Materials and Signal Processing for Vital Sign and Human Activity Monitoring

Advances in flexible electronic materials and smart textile, along with broad availability of smart phones, cloud and wireless systems have empowered the wearable technologies for significant impact on future of digital and personalized healthcare as well as consumer electronics. However, challenges related to lack of accuracy, reliability, high power consumption, rigid or bulky form factor and difficulty in interpretation of data have limited their wide-scale application in these potential areas. As an important solution to these challenges, we present latest advances in novel flexible electronic materials and sensors that enable comfortable and conformable body interaction and potential for invisible integration within daily apparel. Advances in novel flexible materials and sensors are described for wearable monitoring of human vital signs including, body temperature, respiratory rate and heart rate, muscle movements and activity. We then present advances in signal processing focusing on motion and noise artifact removal, data mining and aspects of sensor fusion relevant to future clinical applications of wearable technology.Applied Science, Faculty ofElectrical and Computer Engineering, Department ofMaterials Engineering, Department ofReviewedFacult

Breathable Dry Silver/Silver Chloride Electronic Textile Electrodes for Electrodermal Activity Monitoring

The focus of this study is to design and integrate silver/silver chloride (Ag/AgCl) electronic textile (e-textile) electrodes into different textile substrates to evaluate their ability to monitor electrodermal activity (EDA). Ag/AgCl e-textiles were stitched into woven textiles of cotton, nylon, and polyester to function as EDA monitoring electrodes. EDA stimulus responses detected by dry e-textile electrodes at various locations on the hand were compared to the EDA signals collected by dry solid Ag/AgCl electrodes. 4-h EDA data with e-textile and clinically conventional rigid electrodes were compared in relation to skin surface temperature. The woven cotton textile substrate with e-textile electrodes (0.12 cm² surface area, 0.40 cm distance) was the optimal material to detect the EDA stimulus responses with the highest average Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.913 ± 0.041 when placed on the distal phalanx of the middle finger. In addition, differences with EDA waveforms recorded on various fingers were observed. Trends of long-term measurements showed that skin surface temperature affected EDA signals recorded by non-breathable electrodes more than when e-textile electrodes were used. The effective design criteria outlined for e-textile electrodes can promote the development of comfortable and unobtrusive EDA monitoring systems, which can help improve our knowledge of the human neurological system.Applied Science, Faculty ofElectrical and Computer Engineering, Department ofMaterials Engineering, Department ofReviewedFacult

Screen-Printed Textile-Based Electrochemical Biosensor for Noninvasive Monitoring of Glucose in Sweat

Wearable sweat biosensors for noninvasive monitoring of health parameters have attracted significant attention. Having these biosensors embedded in textile substrates can provide a convenient experience due to their soft and flexible nature that conforms to the skin, creating good contact for long-term use. These biosensors can be easily integrated with everyday clothing by using textile fabrication processes to enhance affordable and scalable manufacturing. Herein, a flexible electrochemical glucose sensor that can be screen-printed onto a textile substrate has been demonstrated. The screen-printed textile-based glucose biosensor achieved a linear response in the range of 20–1000 µM of glucose concentration and high sensitivity (18.41 µA mM−1 cm−2, R2 = 0.996). In addition, the biosensors show high selectivity toward glucose among other interfering analytes and excellent stability over 30 days of storage. The developed textile-based biosensor can serve as a platform for monitoring bio analytes in sweat, and it is expected to impact the next generation of wearable devices.Applied Science, Faculty ofNon UBCElectrical and Computer Engineering, Department ofMaterials Engineering, Department ofReviewedFacultyResearche

Roll-to-roll fabrication of silver/silver chloride coated yarns for dry electrodes and applications in biosignal monitoring

Abstract This work presents a continuous roll-to-roll electrochemical coating system for producing silver/silver chloride (Ag/AgCl)-coated yarns, and their application in e-textile electrodes for biosignal monitoring. Ag/AgCl is one of the most preferred electrode materials as an interface between the conductive backbone of an electrode and skin. E-textile Ag/AgCl-coated multi-filament nylon yarns offer stable, flexible, and breathable alternatives to standard rigid or flexible film-based Ag/AgCl electrodes. The developed system allows for highly controlled process parameters to achieve stable and uniform AgCl film deposition on Ag-coated nylon yarns. The electrical, electrochemical properties, and morphology of the coated yarns were characterized. Dry electrodes were fabricated and could measure electrocardiogram (ECG) signals with comparable performance to standard gel electrodes. Ag/AgCl e-textile electrodes demonstrated high stability, with low average polarization potential (1.22 mV/min) compared with Ag-coated electrodes (3.79 mV/min), low impedance (below 2 MΩ, 0.1–150 Hz), and are excellent candidates for heart rate detection and monitoring

Perspectives of users for a future interactive wearable system for upper extremity rehabilitation following stroke : a qualitative study

Background: Wearable sensor technology can facilitate diagnostics and monitoring of people with upper extremity (UE) paresis after stroke. The purpose of this study is to investigate the perspectives of clinicians, people living with stroke, and their caregivers on an interactive wearable system that detects UE movements and provides feedback. Methods This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews relating to the perspectives of a future interactive wearable system including a wearable sensor to capture UE movement and a user interface to provide feedback as the means of data collection. Ten rehabilitation therapists, 9 people with stroke, and 2 caregivers participated in this study. Results Four themes were identified (1) “Everyone is different” highlighted the need for addressing individual user’s rehabilitation goal and personal preference; (2) “The wearable system should identify UE and trunk movements” emphasized that in addition to arm, hand, and finger movements, detecting compensatory trunk movements during UE movements is also of interest; (3) “Both quality and amount of movements are necessary to measure” described the parameters related to how well and how much the user is using their affected UE that participants envisioned the system to monitor; (4) “Functional activities should be practiced by the users” outlined UE movements and activities that are of priority in designing the system. Conclusions Narratives from clinicians, people with stroke, and their caregivers offer insight into the design of interactive wearable systems. Future studies examining the experience and acceptability of existing wearable systems from end-users are warranted to guide the adoption of this technology.Applied Science, Faculty ofMedicine, Faculty ofNon UBCBiomedical Engineering, School ofElectrical and Computer Engineering, Department ofOccupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Department ofPhysical Therapy, Department ofReviewedFacultyResearcherGraduateUndergraduat