Event-Driven On-Sensor Locomotion Mode Recognition Using a Shank-Mounted IMU with Embedded Machine Learning for Exoskeleton Control

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Razmi, Mohammadsaleh, Shojaei, Iman
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Razmi, Mohammadsaleh
Shojaei, Iman
author_facet Razmi, Mohammadsaleh
Shojaei, Iman
contents This work presents a wearable human activity recognition (HAR) system that performs real-time inference directly inside a shank-mounted inertial measurement unit (IMU) to support low-latency control of a lower-limb exoskeleton. Unlike conventional approaches that continuously stream raw inertial data to a microcontroller for classification, the proposed system executes activity recognition at the sensor level using the embedded Machine Learning Core (MLC) of the STMicroelectronics LSM6DSV16X IMU, allowing the host microcontroller to remain in a low-power state and read only the recognized activity label from IMU registers. While the system generalizes to multiple human activities, this paper focuses on three representative locomotion modes - stance, level walking, and stair ascent - using data collected from adult participants. A lightweight decision-tree model was configured and deployed for on-sensor execution using ST MEMS Studio, enabling continuous operation without custom machine learning code on the microcontroller. During operation, the IMU asserts an interrupt when motion or a new classification is detected; the microcontroller wakes, reads the MLC output registers, and forwards the inferred mode to the exoskeleton controller. This interrupt-driven, on-sensor inference architecture reduces computation and communication overhead while preserving battery energy and improving robustness in distinguishing level walking from stair ascent for torque-assist control.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_21418
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Event-Driven On-Sensor Locomotion Mode Recognition Using a Shank-Mounted IMU with Embedded Machine Learning for Exoskeleton Control
Razmi, Mohammadsaleh
Shojaei, Iman
Robotics
I.2.9; C.3; J.3
This work presents a wearable human activity recognition (HAR) system that performs real-time inference directly inside a shank-mounted inertial measurement unit (IMU) to support low-latency control of a lower-limb exoskeleton. Unlike conventional approaches that continuously stream raw inertial data to a microcontroller for classification, the proposed system executes activity recognition at the sensor level using the embedded Machine Learning Core (MLC) of the STMicroelectronics LSM6DSV16X IMU, allowing the host microcontroller to remain in a low-power state and read only the recognized activity label from IMU registers. While the system generalizes to multiple human activities, this paper focuses on three representative locomotion modes - stance, level walking, and stair ascent - using data collected from adult participants. A lightweight decision-tree model was configured and deployed for on-sensor execution using ST MEMS Studio, enabling continuous operation without custom machine learning code on the microcontroller. During operation, the IMU asserts an interrupt when motion or a new classification is detected; the microcontroller wakes, reads the MLC output registers, and forwards the inferred mode to the exoskeleton controller. This interrupt-driven, on-sensor inference architecture reduces computation and communication overhead while preserving battery energy and improving robustness in distinguishing level walking from stair ascent for torque-assist control.
title Event-Driven On-Sensor Locomotion Mode Recognition Using a Shank-Mounted IMU with Embedded Machine Learning for Exoskeleton Control
topic Robotics
I.2.9; C.3; J.3
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.21418