Measurement of contact forces between human and vibrating floors using fiber Bragg grating foot sensors

We report on the use of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) foot sensors to study the reaction of human being subjected to floor vibration. The entire testing system comprises the multiplexed FBG foot sensors, the communication link between the sensors and the vibrating slab, the control and synchronization software, the graphical user interface, and the data acquisition and analysis system. The pressure distributions over different parts of the foot are obtained at different floor vibrating frequencies and with different distances from the vibrating source. These results show great potential in the application of the FBG foot sensors to study the biomechanics of balancing on a vibrating floor. It has also been demonstrated that the system is robust and able to work under harsh conditions. Further development towards practical implementation of the system is proposed.