Estimation of walking direction estimation using a shoe-mounted acceleration sensor

Estimation of walking direction is important for providing detailed information about an individual's gait. This study proposes a method for estimating walking direction using a shoe-mounted acceleration sensor. Heel contact is determined from the negative peak of the acceleration magnitude, and foot inclination is calculated for estimating the horizontal acceleration. The stepping direction of each foot is calculated through principle component analysis along the horizontal acceleration. The walking direction is estimated by averaging consecutive left- and right-step directions. The proposed method was applied to out-door straight ground walking for 658 steps, and yielded a mean difference of 0.48° with a standard deviation of 1.98°.