Articulatory measuring system by using magnetometer and optical sensors

Abstract

This paper introduces a motion tracking system useful for monitoring articulatory movements. The system is made up in combination of two sensor units, magnetometer and optical sensors. The magnetometer unit consists of sensors having two amorphous alloy cores and small permanent magnetic rods glued on the tongue surface. The measuring principle is based on a change in the intensity of the magnetic field related to the distances between the rods and sensors. The optical sensor unit consists of a position-sensitive device (PSD) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) which are attached to several selected points of articulators. Simultaneous measurements have been done in combination with the magnetic sensing unit and the optical one. Two points on the tongue surface were measured by making use of the magnetic sensing unit, and five points; two points for the jaw, two points for the lips, and one point for the nose, were measured by use of the optical sensing unit.