For my fourth year design project I am working with a team to create a workout shirt that tracks muscle activation by measuring EMG signals and communicating wirelessly with a smartphone. Our prototype is able to measure four channels of EMG data and compute basic metrics such as number of reps, cadence, and level of exertion.
I was in charge of the hardware for this project and my teammates focused on developing algorithms and creating the mobile app.
Electronics
We used electrodes placed on a user's skin to measure a small differential voltage that fluctuates based on muscle activation. Our electronics filter this signal to reduce noise and amplify it to the point that it can be detected by an Arduino.
After getting the electronics working on a breadboard, I designed a PCB using Eagle so that we could have a more robust and compact prototype. It was my first time ordering PCBs or using Eagle but luckily everything worked perfectly on the first iteration.
Eagle PCB layout
Populated PCB
Enclosure
I designed an enclosure for the PCB and battery in SolidWorks and 3D printed so that our prototype would be robust enough to bring to the gym.
Solidworks assembly
Electronics in enclosure
Final prototype
Software
Once the electronics were working, we got to work on the software. We started off using MATLAB to process and display the collected data so that we could quickly develop the algorithms.
Two of my teammates then built an Android app to properly demo our prototype. This app was able to connect to our electronics over Bluetooth to receive data and reliably count reps, measure cadence, and determine mean and peak exertion of a user's workout.
Competitions and Awards
We presented our design in the Innovative Design category at the Ontario Engineering Competition and won the $2500 second place prize. We also received further funding from the Engineer of the Future Trust and won the best overall project award at our class's design project symposium. Most recently we won $13,000 in funding at the Norman Esch Entrepreneurship Awards including the Sedra People's Choice Award for Best Capstone Design.
Poster
A more thorough overview of this project can be seen on our symposium poster:
