Whole-Body Vibration Sensor Calibration Using a Six-Degree of Freedom Robot

Exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV) is associated with a wide variety of health disorders and as a result WBV levels are frequently assessed. Literature outlining WBV accelerations rarely address the calibration techniques and procedures used for WBV sensors to any depth, nor are any detailed information provided regarding such procedures or sensor calibration ranges. The purpose of this paper is to describe a calibration method for a 6 DOF transducer using a hexapod robot. Also described is a separate motion capture technique used to verify the calibration for acceleration values obtained which were outside the robot calibration range in order to include an acceptable calibration range for WBV environments. The sensor calibrated in this study used linear (Y = mX) calibration equations resulting in r(2) values greater than 0.97 for maximum and minimum acceleration amplitudes of up to +/- 8m/s(2) and maximum and minimum velocity amplitudes up to +/- 100 degrees/s. The motion capture technique verified that the translational calibrations held for accelerations up to +/- 4 g. Thus, the calibration procedures were shown to calibrate the sensor through the expected range for 6-DOF WBV field measurements for off-road vehicles even when subjected to shocks as a result of high speed travel over rough terrain.