Characterization of upper body accelerations for task performance in humans

Upper body accelerations were recorded from subjects as they performed a standardized activity circuit. The acceleration records were analyzed for the tasks performed: walk, traverse a balance beam, boulder hop, go over and under barriers, slalom run, go up and down a ramp, and traverse a sidehill ramp. It was found that the acceleration signals displayed distinctive patterns for the different tasks. The relative contribution of the acceleration on the three axes was assessed using rms analysis and found to be significantly different for the different tasks. The magnitude of the rms accelerations was also found to vary with task, with three tasks having magnitudes greater than that of walking and three tasks having magnitudes less than that of walking.