An Experimentally Validated 3-D Inertial Tracking Package for Application in Biodynamic Research

A six-accelerometer inertial tracking package currently in intensive use in measuring living human and human surrogate response to impact acceleration is presented and discussed. The discussion includes an enumeration of the various requirements imposed upon the package as well as its design and fabrication.

The on-site calibration facility is described, including a discussion of the procedures for routine calibration of the packages. Accounts of the data acquisition link from the packages through the sled borne amplifiers to the hybrid computer are also included.

Particular attention is devoted to the theoretical aspects of this system. A statement of errors is developed and compared to the various precision parameters of this system and to a general estimation of the dynamic response envelope demonstrating the overall feasibility of this approach.