Analyze Diet
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)2021; 21(3); doi: 10.3390/s21030798

Using Different Combinations of Body-Mounted IMU Sensors to Estimate Speed of Horses-A Machine Learning Approach.

Abstract: Speed is an essential parameter in biomechanical analysis and general locomotion research. It is possible to estimate the speed using global positioning systems (GPS) or inertial measurement units (IMUs). However, GPS requires a consistent signal connection to satellites, and errors accumulate during IMU signals integration. In an attempt to overcome these issues, we have investigated the possibility of estimating the horse speed by developing machine learning (ML) models using the signals from seven body-mounted IMUs. Since motion patterns extracted from IMU signals are different between breeds and gaits, we trained the models based on data from 40 Icelandic and Franches-Montagnes horses during walk, trot, tölt, pace, and canter. In addition, we studied the estimation accuracy between IMU locations on the body (sacrum, withers, head, and limbs). The models were evaluated per gait and were compared between ML algorithms and IMU location. The model yielded the highest estimation accuracy of speed (RMSE = 0.25 m/s) within equine and most of human speed estimation literature. In conclusion, highly accurate horse speed estimation models, independent of IMU(s) location on-body and gait, were developed using ML.
Publication Date: 2021-01-26 PubMed ID: 33530288PubMed Central: PMC7865839DOI: 10.3390/s21030798Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article demonstrates how speed estimation in horses can be improved with machine learning models that utilize data from seven variously placed body-mounted Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensors.

Objective of the Research

  • The study aims to propose a better method for estimating a horse’s speed by developing Machine Learning (ML) models that can adapt to varying signals from multiple body-mounted IMUs.

Methodology

  • Data from 40 Icelandic and Franches-Montagnes horses were gathered over different gaits consisting of walk, trot, tölt, pace, and canter.
  • A total of seven IMUs were attached to different parts of the horse’s body – sacrum, withers, head, and limbs to capture a wide range of motion patterns.
  • These motion patterns were input into different ML algorithms to form models capable of estimating the horse’s speed.

Results

  • The models were evaluated based on their accuracy in estimating speed for each gait, as well as their dependency on the position of the IMUs on the horse’s body.
  • The most accurate model managed to estimate speed with an error rate of just 0.25 m/s, making it more accurate than most current methods used in both equine and human speed estimation.

Conclusion

  • The study concluded that it is feasible to develop highly accurate horse speed estimation models using ML methodologies, functioning independently of the IMU(s) location on the body and gait type.
  • This opens new possibilities in locomotion research and biomechanical analysis, bypassing the limitations of GPS and standalone IMUs.

Cite This Article

APA
Darbandi H, Serra Bragança F, van der Zwaag BJ, Voskamp J, Gmel AI, Haraldsdóttir EH, Havinga P. (2021). Using Different Combinations of Body-Mounted IMU Sensors to Estimate Speed of Horses-A Machine Learning Approach. Sensors (Basel), 21(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/s21030798

Publication

ISSN: 1424-8220
NlmUniqueID: 101204366
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 21
Issue: 3

Researcher Affiliations

Darbandi, Hamed
  • Pervasive Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands.
Serra Bragança, Filipe
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands.
van der Zwaag, Berend Jan
  • Pervasive Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands.
  • Inertia Technology B.V., 7521 AG Enschede, The Netherlands.
Voskamp, John
  • Rosmark Consultancy, 6733 AA Wekerom, The Netherlands.
Gmel, Annik Imogen
  • Equine Department, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Agroscope-Swiss National Stud Farm, Les Longs-Prés, 1580 Avenches, Switzerland.
Haraldsdóttir, Eyrún Halla
  • Equine Department, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Havinga, Paul
  • Pervasive Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Gait
  • Horses
  • Machine Learning
  • Torso
  • Walking

Grant Funding

  • Paardensprong / EFRO OP-Oost
  • 627001325 / Swiss federal Office for Agriculture

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

This article includes 70 references
  1. Meira CT, Fortes MR, Farah MM, Porto-Neto LR, Kelly M, Moore SS, Pereira GL, Chardulo LAL, Curi RA. Speed Index in the Racing Quarter Horse: A Genome-wide Association Study. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 2014;34:1263–1268.
  2. Witte T, Wilson A. Accuracy of non-differential GPS for the determination of speed over ground. J. Biomech. 2004;37:1891–1898.
  3. Robert C, Valette JP, Pourcelot P, Audigie F, Denoix JM. Effects of trotting speed on muscle activity and kinematics in saddlehorses. Equine Vet. J. 2002;34:295–301.
  4. Weishaupt MA, Hogg HP, Auer JA, Wiestner T. Velocity-dependent changes of time, force and spatial parameters in Warmblood horses walking and trotting on a treadmill. Equine Vet. J. 2010;42:530–537.
  5. Allen KJ, Young LE, Franklin SH. Evaluation of heart rate and rhythm during exercise. Equine Vet. Educ. 2015;28:99–112.
    doi: 10.1111/eve.12405google scholar: lookup
  6. Williams J, Kenworth K, Jones T. The role of heart rate monitoring to assess workload during maintenance interval training in national hunt racehorses. J. Vet. Behav. 2019;29:150.
  7. Moorman VJ, Frisbie DD, Kawcak CE, McIlwraith CW. The Effect of Horse Velocity on the Output of an Inertial Sensor System. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 2017;58:34–39.
  8. Yigit T, Han F, Rankins E, Yi J, McKeever K, Malinowski K. Wearable IMU-based Early Limb Lameness Detection for Horses using Multi-Layer Classifiers. Proceedings of the 2020 IEEE 16th International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE); Hong Kong, China. 20–21 August 2020; pp. 955–960.
  9. Witte TH, Hirst CV, Wilson AM. Effect of speed on stride parameters in racehorses at gallop in field conditions. J. Exp. Biol. 2006;209:4389–4397.
    doi: 10.1242/jeb.02518pubmed: 17050854google scholar: lookup
  10. Munsters CC, van Iwaarden A, van Weeren R, Sloet van Oldruitenborg-Oosterbaan MM. Exercise testing in Warmblood sport horses under field conditions. Vet. J. 2014;202:11–19.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.07.019pubmed: 25172838google scholar: lookup
  11. Farries G, Gough KF, Parnell AC, McGivney BA, McGivney CL, McGettigan PA, MacHugh DE, Katz LM, Hill EW. Analysis of genetic variation contributing to measured speed in Thoroughbreds identifies genomic regions involved in the transcriptional response to exercise. Anim. Genet. 2019;50:670–685.
    doi: 10.1111/age.12848pubmed: 31508842google scholar: lookup
  12. Enschede IB. KWPN Lineair Scoring. [(accessed on 20 April 2020)]; Available online: https://www.kwpn.org/events/empty/studbook-inspections/lineair-scoring.
  13. König von Borstel U, Pasing S, Gauly M. Towards a more objective assessment of equine personality using behavioural and physiological observations from performance test training. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 2011;135:277–285.
  14. Starke S, Oosterlinck M. Reliability of equine visual lameness classification as a function of expertise, lameness severity and rater confidence. Vet. Rec. 2018;184.
    doi: 10.1136/vr.105058pubmed: 30242083google scholar: lookup
  15. Gmel AI, Gmel G, von Niederhäusern R, Weishaupt MA, Neuditschko M. Should We Agree to Disagree? An Evaluation of the Inter-Rater Reliability of Gait Quality Traits in Franches-Montagnes Stallions. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 2020;88:102932.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2020.102932pubmed: 32303302google scholar: lookup
  16. Fredricson I, Drevemo S, Dalin G, Hjerten G, Björne K. The application of high-speed cinematography for the quantitative analysis of equine locomotion. Equine Vet. J. 1980;12:54–59.
  17. Ratzlaff MH, Shindell RM, White KK. The interrelationships of stride lengths and stride times to velocities of galloping horses. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 1985;5:279–283.
  18. Ericson C, Stenfeldt P, Hardeman A, Jacobson I. The Effect of Kinesiotape on Flexion-Extension of the Thoracolumbar Back in Horses at Trot. Animals 2020;10:301.
    doi: 10.3390/ani10020301pmc: PMC7071056pubmed: 32069962google scholar: lookup
  19. Pfau T. A method for deriving displacement data during cyclical movement using an inertial sensor. J. Exp. Biol. 2005;208:2503–2514.
    doi: 10.1242/jeb.01658pubmed: 15961737google scholar: lookup
  20. Nguyen KD, Chen I, Luo Z, Yeo SH, Duh HB. A Wearable Sensing System for Tracking and Monitoring of Functional Arm Movement. IEEE/ASME Trans. Mechatron. 2011;16:213–220.
  21. Fasel B, Duc C, Dadashi F, Bardyn F, Savary M, Farine PA, Aminian K. A wrist sensor and algorithm to determine instantaneous walking cadence and speed in daily life walking. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput. 2017;55:1773–1785.
    doi: 10.1007/s11517-017-1621-2pubmed: 28197810google scholar: lookup
  22. Feigl T, Kram S, Woller P, Siddiqui RH, Philippsen M, Mutschler C. RNN-aided human velocity estimation from a single IMU. Sensors 2020;20:3656.
    doi: 10.3390/s20133656pmc: PMC7374368pubmed: 32610668google scholar: lookup
  23. Brzostowski K. Novel approach to human walking speed enhancement based on drift estimation. Biomed. Signal Process. Control. 2018;42:18–29.
  24. Díez LE, Bahillo A, Otegui J, Otim T. Step Length Estimation Methods Basedon Inertial Sensors: A Review. IEEE Sens. J. 2018;18:6908–6926.
    doi: 10.1109/JSEN.2018.2857502google scholar: lookup
  25. Varley MC, Fairweather IH, Aughey RJ. Validity and reliability of GPS for measuring instantaneous velocity during acceleration, deceleration, and constant motion. J. Sports Sci. 2012;30:121–127.
    doi: 10.1080/02640414.2011.627941pubmed: 22122431google scholar: lookup
  26. Borresen J, Ian Lambert M. The Quantification of Training Load, the Training Response and the Effect on Performance. Sports Med. 2009;39:779–795.
  27. Roe G, Darrall-Jones J, Black C, Shaw W, Till K, Jones B. Validity of 10-HZ GPS and Timing Gates for Assessing Maximum Velocity in Professional Rugby Union Players. Int. J. sports Physiol. Perform. 2017;12:836–839.
    doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2016-0256pubmed: 27736256google scholar: lookup
  28. Beato M, Devereux G, Stiff A. Validity and Reliability of Global Positioning System Units (STATSports Viper) for Measuring Distance and Peak Speed in Sports. J. Strength Cond. Res. 2018;32:2831–2837.
    doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002778pubmed: 30052603google scholar: lookup
  29. Scott MT, Scott TJ, Kelly VG. The Validity and Reliability of Global Positioning Systems in Team Sport. J. Strength Cond. Res. 2016;30:1470–1490.
    doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001221pubmed: 26439776google scholar: lookup
  30. Kingston JK, Soppet GM, Rogers CW, firth EC. Use of a global positioning and heart rate monitoring system to assess training load in a group of Thoroughbred racehorses. Equine Vet. J. 2006;38:106–109.
  31. Bazzano M, Giudice E, Rizzo M, Congiu F, Zumbo A, Arfuso F, Di Pietro S, Bruschetta D, Piccione G. Application of a combined global positioning and heart rate monitoring system in jumper horses during an official competition—A preliminary study. Acta Vet. Hung. 2016;64:189–200.
    doi: 10.1556/004.2016.019pubmed: 27342090google scholar: lookup
  32. Fonseca RG, Kenny DA, Hill EW, Katz LM. The association of various speed indices to training responses in Thoroughbred flat racehorses measured with a global positioning and heart rate monitoring system. Equine Vet. J. 2010;42:51–57.
  33. Parkes RSV, Weller R, Pfau T, Witte TH. The Effect of Training on Stride Duration in a Cohort of Two-Year-Old and Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Racehorses. Animals 2019;9:466.
    doi: 10.3390/ani9070466pmc: PMC6680649pubmed: 31336595google scholar: lookup
  34. Vermeulen AD, Evans DL. Measurements of fitness in Thoroughbred racehorses using field studies of heart rate and velocity with a global positioning system. Equine Vet. J. 2006;38:113–117.
  35. Han H, McGivney BA, Farries G, Katz LM, MacHugh DE, Randhawa IAS, Hill EW. Selection in Australian Thoroughbred horses acts on a locus associated with early two-year old speed. PLoS ONE 2020;15:e0227212.
  36. Best R, Standing R. The Spatiotemporal Characteristics of 0–24-Goal Polo. Animals 2019;9:446.
    doi: 10.3390/ani9070446pmc: PMC6680633pubmed: 31315210google scholar: lookup
  37. Phinyomark A, Petri G, Ibáñez-Marcelo E, Osis ST, Ferber R. Analysis of big data in gait biomechanics: Current trends and future directions. J. Med. Biol. Eng. 2018;38:244–260.
    doi: 10.1007/s40846-017-0297-2pmc: PMC5897457pubmed: 29670502google scholar: lookup
  38. Bouwman A, Savchuk A, Abbaspourghomi A, Visser B. Automated Step Detection in Inertial Measurement Unit Data From Turkeys. Front. Genet. 2020;11:207.
    doi: 10.3389/fgene.2020.00207pmc: PMC7096551pubmed: 32265981google scholar: lookup
  39. Zhou Y, Romijnders R, Hansen C, Campen J, Maetzler W, Hortobágyi T, Lamoth C. The detection of age groups by dynamic gait outcomes using machine learning approaches. Sci. Rep. 2020;10:4426.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-61423-2pmc: PMC7064519pubmed: 32157168google scholar: lookup
  40. Cortes C, Vapnik V. Support-vector networks. Mach. Learn. 1995;20:273–297.
    doi: 10.1007/BF00994018google scholar: lookup
  41. Rasmussen CE, Williams CKI. Gaussian Processes for Machine Learning. MIT Press; Cambridge, MA, USA: 2008.
  42. Quinlan JR. Induction of decision trees. Mach. Learn. 1986;1:81–106.
    doi: 10.1007/BF00116251google scholar: lookup
  43. Friedman JH. Stochastic gradient boosting. Comput. Stat. Data Anal. 2002;38:367–378.
  44. Sut N, Simsek O. Comparison of regression tree data mining methods for prediction of mortality in head injury. Expert Syst. Appl. 2011;38:15534–15539.
  45. Breiman L. Random forests. Mach. Learn. 2001;45:5–32.
    doi: 10.1023/A:1010933404324google scholar: lookup
  46. Faber M, Johnston C, van Weeren PR, Barneveld A. Repeatability of back kinematics in horses during treadmill locomotion. Equine Vet. J. 2002;34:235–241.
    doi: 10.2746/042516402776186010pubmed: 12108740google scholar: lookup
  47. Cano M, Vivo J, MirÓ F, Morales J, Galisteo A. Kinematic characteristics of Andalusian, Arabian and Anglo-Arabian horses: A comparative study. Res. Vet. Sci. 2001;71:147–153.
    doi: 10.1053/rvsc.2001.0504pubmed: 11883894google scholar: lookup
  48. Robilliard JJ, Pfau T, Wilson AM. Gait characterisation and classification in horses. J. Exp. Biol. 2007;210:187–197.
    doi: 10.1242/jeb.02611pubmed: 17210956google scholar: lookup
  49. Gunnarsson V, Tijssen M, Bjornsdottir S, Voskamp J, Van Weeren P, Back W, Rhodin M, Persson-Sjodin E, Serra Braganca F. Objective evaluation of stride parameters in the five-gaited Icelandic horse. Comp. Exerc. Physiol. 2018;14:S52.
    doi: 10.3920/cep2018.s1google scholar: lookup
  50. Bosch S, Braganca F, Marin-Perianu M, Marin-Perianu R, van der Zwaag BJ, Voskamp J, Back W, van Weeren P, Havinga P. EquiMoves: A Wireless Networked Inertial Measurement System for Objective Examination of Horse Gait. Sensors 2018;18:850.
    doi: 10.3390/s18030850pmc: PMC5877382pubmed: 29534022google scholar: lookup
  51. Glowinski S, Łosiński K, Kowianski P, Waśkow M, Bryndal A, Grochulska A. Inertial Sensors as a Tool for Diagnosing Discopathy Lumbosacral Pathologic Gait: A Preliminary Research. Diagnostics 2020;10:342.
    doi: 10.3390/diagnostics10060342pmc: PMC7345098pubmed: 32466525google scholar: lookup
  52. . OriginGPS-Hornet. [(accessed on 25 September 2020)]; Available online: https://origingps.com/product-category/hornet/.
  53. Ahmed N, Rafiq JI, Islam MR. Enhanced Human Activity Recognition Based on Smartphone Sensor Data Using Hybrid Feature Selection Model. Sensors 2020;20:317.
    doi: 10.3390/s20010317pmc: PMC6983014pubmed: 31935943google scholar: lookup
  54. Barwick J, Lamb D, Dobos R, Schneider D, Welch M, Trotter M. Predicting Lameness in Sheep Activity Using Tri-Axial Acceleration Signals. Animals 2018;8:12.
    doi: 10.3390/ani8010012pmc: PMC5789307pubmed: 29324700google scholar: lookup
  55. Rehman RZU, Del Din S, Guan Y, Yarnall AJ, Shi JQ, Rochester L. Selecting Clinically Relevant Gait Characteristics for Classification of Early Parkinson’s Disease: A Comprehensive Machine Learning Approach. Sci. Rep. 2019;9:17269.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-53656-7pmc: PMC6872822pubmed: 31754175google scholar: lookup
  56. Kamminga JW, Le DV, Meijers JP, Bisby H, Meratnia N, Havinga PJ. Robust Sensor-Orientation-Independent Feature Selection for Animal Activity Recognition on Collar Tags. Proc. Acm Interact. Mob. Wearable Ubiquitous Technol. 2018;2:1–27.
    doi: 10.1145/3191747google scholar: lookup
  57. Smith SW. The Scientist and Engineer’s Guide to Digital Signal Processing. Technical Publishing; San Francisco, CA, USA: 1997.
  58. Peng J, Ferguson S, Rafferty K, Kelly P. An efficient feature selection method for mobile devices with application to activity recognition. Neurocomputing 2011;74:3543–3552.
  59. Pudil P, Novovičová J, Kittler J. Floating search methods in feature selection. Pattern Recognit. Lett. 1994;15:1119–1125.
  60. Mannini A, Sabatini AM. Walking speed estimation using foot-mounted inertial sensors: Comparing machine learning and strap-down integration methods. Med. Eng. Phys. 2014;36:1312–1321.
  61. Braganca F, Broomé S, Rhodin M, Bjornsdottir S, Gunnarsson V, Voskamp J, Persson-Sjodin E, Back W, Lindgren G, Novoa-Bravo M. Improving gait classification in horses by using inertial measurement unit (IMU) generated data and machine learning. Sci. Rep. 2020;10:17785.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-73215-9pmc: PMC7576586pubmed: 33082367google scholar: lookup
  62. Pfau T, Boultbee H, Davis H, Walker A, Rhodin M. Agreement between two inertial sensor gait analysis systems for lameness examinations in horses. Equine Vet. Educ. 2016;28:203–208.
    doi: 10.1111/eve.12400google scholar: lookup
  63. Thompson R, Kyriazakis I, Holden A, Olivier P, Ploetz T. Dancing with Horses: Automated Quality Feedback for Dressage Riders. Proceedings of the 2015 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing; Umeda, Osaka, Japan. 9–11 September 2015; pp. 325–336.
    doi: 10.1145/2750858.2807536google scholar: lookup
  64. Keegan KG, Kramer J, Yonezawa Y, Maki H, Pai PF, Dent EV, Kellerman TE, Wilson DA, Reed SK. Assessment of repeatability of a wireless, inertial sensor-based lameness evaluation system for horses. Am. J. Vet. Res. 2011;72:1156–1163.
    doi: 10.2460/ajvr.72.9.1156pubmed: 21879972google scholar: lookup
  65. Bragança FM, Bosch S, Voskamp JP, Marin-Perianu M, Van der Zwaag BJ, Vernooij JCM, van Weeren PR, Back W. Validation of distal limb mounted inertial measurement unit sensors for stride detection in Warmblood horses at walk and trot. Equine Vet. J. 2017;49:545–551.
    doi: 10.1111/evj.12651pmc: PMC5484301pubmed: 27862238google scholar: lookup
  66. Clayton H. Comparison of the stride kinematics of the collected, medium, and extended walks in horses. Am. J. Vet. Res. 1995;56:849–852.
    pubmed: 7574149
  67. Clayton HM. Comparison of the stride kinematics of the collected, working, medium and extended trot in horses. Equine Vet. J. 1994;26:230–234.
  68. Schmutz A, Chèze L, Jacques J, Martin P. A method to estimate horse speed per stride from one IMU with a machine learning method. Sensors 2020;20:518.
    doi: 10.3390/s20020518pmc: PMC7014525pubmed: 31963422google scholar: lookup
  69. Byun S, Lee HJ, Han JW, Kim JS, Choi E, Kim KW. Walking-speed estimation using a single inertial measurement unit for the older adults. PLoS ONE 2019;14:e0227075.
  70. Zihajehzadeh S, Park EJ. Regression model-based walking speed estimation using wrist-worn inertial sensor. PLoS ONE 2016;11:e0165211.