# Method to Locate Footstep



## Frederick84 (Feb 8, 2010)

Hi,

I am working on a project to collect data on walking gait of patient, ie stoke patient. I need solution to locate the position of the patient's feet and the distance apart by using just distance sensor.

any one got good idea ??


----------



## wilheldp_PE (Feb 8, 2010)

Have them walk through a pan of paint, then along a long strip of craft paper. Then measure using a tape measure.

Seriously, any kind of vision system, light curtain, or laser positioning system is going to cost a fortune, so unless this is some NSF funded research, it's going to be cost prohibitive.


----------



## Frederick84 (Feb 8, 2010)

wilheldp_PE said:


> Have them walk through a pan of paint, then along a long strip of craft paper. Then measure using a tape measure.
> Seriously, any kind of vision system, light curtain, or laser positioning system is going to cost a fortune, so unless this is some NSF funded research, it's going to be cost prohibitive.


icic

Cause, Im planning to place a distance sensor on the foot, then use them to meaure the distance, however it cant locate the position.

As i need the data to be transfer via RS232 to matlab to generate the results, therefore I cant use the method you suggested.

However, Thank for the input.


----------



## FINK_RB_PE (Feb 8, 2010)

Frederick84 said:


> wilheldp_PE said:
> 
> 
> > Have them walk through a pan of paint, then along a long strip of craft paper. Then measure using a tape measure.
> ...


I don't know if this would be helpfull but I would check with some folks in the movie industry, it sounds like the stuff they used to create characters in The Lord of the Rings and soforth is exactly what you need, no idea on price though.


----------



## wilheldp_PE (Feb 8, 2010)

Do you have any computer science buddies with experience in vision systems? I took classes on each in school, and immediately after I finished the vision systems class, I probably could have done what you are asking for with a webcam and Visual C++ or Java. You just need to attach something to the walker that the camera can pick up (CGI animators use reflective balls), and tune the field of vision so that a certain distance traveled in the image translates to a real world distance. Then you need a program front-end to interpolate those distances and enter them into a Matlab compatible format.

A commercial product may exist that does all of this, but as I said before, it would be really expensive. But if you have friends with the necessary knowledge, you can get it done for the cost of a webcam and maybe some beer and pizza.


----------

