Leaping and Accelerometry: A Theoretical Approach

Abstract

Accelerometry has always been a popular method of monitoring locomotor activity but its use is becoming more widespread due to the easy availability of low cost, low power sensors. However one of the major problems with interpreting accelerometer data is that rotation of the sensor alters the output and obtaining independent orientation information is currently difficult. For the specific case of leaping locomotion full orientation information is unecessary as long as an independent measure of height change is available such as can be obtained from a sensitive pressure sensor. Therefore a 4 channel logging system recording 3 accelerometry axes combined with a channel measuring pressure could be used to accurately assess leaping locomotion. This approach should also work for any locomotion where acceleration is limited to the vertical plane but in practice it may be restricted by the sensitivity and acquisition characteristics of the pressure measurement system. Ultimately it should be a useful addition to the range of measurements available for remote locomotor monitoring particularly for leaping species such as lemurs and other non-human primates.