Lightweight periodic scheduler in wearable devices for real-time biofeedback systems in sports and physical rehabilitation

Kos, Anton (author), Bürmen, Arpad (author), Hribernik, Matevž (author), Tomažič, Sašo (author), Umek, Anton (author), Fajfar, Iztok (author), Puhan, Janez (author)

This study explores the application of wireless wearable devices within the emerging domain of biomechanical feedback systems for sports and rehabilitation. A critical aspect of these systems is the need for real-time operation, where wearable devices must execute multiple processes concurrently while ensuring specific tasks are performed within precise time constraints. To address this challenge, we developed a specialized, lightweight periodic scheduler for microcontrollers. Extensive testing under various conditions demonstrated that sensor sampling frequencies of 650 Hz and 1750 Hz are achievable when utilizing one and 26 sensor samples per packet, respectively. Receiver delays were observed to be a few milliseconds or more, depending on the application scenario. These findings offer practical guidelines for developers and practitioners working with realtime biomechanical feedback systems. By optimizing sensor sampling frequencies and packet configurations, our approach enables more responsive and accurate feedback for athletes and patients, improving the reliability of motion analysis, rehabilitation monitoring, and training assessments. Additionally, we outline the limitations of such systems in terms of transmission delays and jitter, providing insights into their feasibility for different real-world applications.

• Language: English
• Keywords: wearable devices, periodic scheduler, senosrs, IMU, microcontroller, real-time biofeedback, sport, physical rehabilitation
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FE - Faculty of Electrical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 20 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 15, issue 12, art. 6405
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-169843
• UDC: 004.9
• ISSN on article: 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app15126405
• COBISS.SI-ID: 239145475
• Publication date in RUL: 12.06.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Applied sciences
• Shortened title: Appl. sci.
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2076-3417
• COBISS.SI-ID: 522979353

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: nosljive naprave, periodični odpravnik, senzorji, IMU, mikrokrmilnik, biomehanska povratna povezava v realnem času, šport, fizična rehablitacija

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P2-0246
• Name: ICT4QoL - Informacijsko komunikacijske tehnologije za kakovostno življenje