Smart Scale Tracking System Using Calibrated
Load Cells
1st Sedia Jaiteh 2nd Su Farah Adillah Suhaimi
Faculty of Engineering
Multimedia University
Cyberjaya, Malaysia
sedia.jaiteh@gmail.com
4th Adamu Muhammad Buhari
Faculty of Engineering
Multimedia University
Cyberjaya, Malaysia
adam m.buhari@yahoo.com
Abstract—In this paper, a multipurpose smart tracking system
that operates as a weighting scale and as a human tracking system
by utilizing human gait is designed and analyzed. The prototype
presented in this paper can function as a standalone system (e.g
industrial weighting machine) or as part of a larger multilevel
biometric system. The design uses load cells as it’s primary input
sensors. Eight load cells were used to build the prototype sensing
platform. When weight is placed on the platform, the change in
resistance of the load cells are recorded as analog signals which
are fed into an amplifier and then to an Arduino microprocessor
for data processing, data analyzing and data representation.The
whole system can be powered by a 9V battery or solar energy.
Between 5kg to 20kg of static weights and 10 individuals of
varying age groups, gender, weight and foot sizes were used for
testing the precision and accuracy of the sensing platform.
Index Terms—Calibration, Load cells, Gait, Weight scale,
prototype
I. I NTRODUCTION
Locomotion involves standing, walking, jogging, running
etc. The systematic study of locomotion is called Gait Analysis
[1]. The limitations of conventional tracking systems that rely
on finger prints, iris, facial structures to identify humans in
a particular environment remain a challenge for researchers.
These limitations range from the need for a proper light source
to close proximity to a camera or an iris scanner. Human gait
is a good alternative as a tracking input in an effort to solve
the proximity problem.
In simple terms Gait can be defined as manner or style
of walking and its analysis is the combination of kinematics
and kinetics data [1]. In gait analysis the entire or part of a
pattern of walking is analyzed. In this work, human weight,
heel strike, toe strike, distance between successive left and
right foot as well as the position a particular foot is at on the
sensory platform, are considered for analysis. All participants
for the analysis were of healthy body masses and were free
of any current or preexisting hip, leg or foot injury. Weight of
participants were recorded after the load cells were calibrated.
978-1-7281-3276-1/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE
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3rd Tan Ching Seong
Faculty of Engineering Faculty of Engineering
Multimedia University Multimedia University
Cyberjaya, Malaysia Cyberjaya, Malaysia
sufarahadilla@gmail.com cstan@mmu.edu.my
5th Dr. Lee Lini 6th Hisham Neyaz
Faculty of Engineering Faculty of Engineering
Multimedia University Multimedia University
Cyberjaya, Malaysia Cyberjaya, Malaysia
linilee@mmu.edu.my thisishisham@ieee.org
The measured weights were stored in a Secure Digital storage
(SD card) and also displayed on an android app that was
developed for this project.
The prototype presented in this paper seeks to address some
limitations present in other works like the slip on in-shoe
apparatus used in [2]. The prototype is a shoe that is made
up of Graphene Porous Network Structure Pressure Sensors
that does the data collection to determine the walking plantar
force and the gait characteristics are recognized using machine
learning. The categories included for analysis were ,toe in,
toe out, lame feet and heel feet. Despite the merits of [2],
the prototype is not cost effective and the need to prepare the
wearable in sole sensor for every subject is quite tedious and
time consuming.
The prototype discussed in [3], is a floor type prototype
which answers some drawbacks in [2], like preparing the shoe
sole and time consumption. However the issue of cost still
remains and an additional disadvantage is the need for a lot
of raw data in order for the machine to undergo supervised
learning for gait recognition.
II. FORCE PLATFORM DESIGN AND WORKING
PRINCIPLE
A. Load Cells
A load cell is a force transducer with a strain gauge, it
converts the force or pressure acting on it into electrical
signals. When force is applied on the strain gauge, the internal
resistance changes to a degree proportional to the applied
force. The operating principle of a load cell strain gauge is
based on the Wheatstone bridge. This principle is ideal for
the measurement of small changes in resistance and, therefore,
suited for this project. When a static weight or an individual
is placed on the load cells, the changes in resistance is
converted into an electrical signal. However, the change is
very small, so an amplifier is connected to the load cells before
recorded changes in resistance are sent to the microprocessor.
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The amplifier used in this project is the HX711 amplifier,
which is a precision 24-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC)
designed for weight scales and industrial control applications
to interface directly with a bridge sensor. A total of 8 load cells
and 8 amplifiers were used in this project to record any weight
placed on the sensor platform. The load cells were built into
a Sensor Platform while the amplifiers were integrated with a
microprocessor, power supply unit, bluetooth module and SD
card in a compartment called the Data Processing Unit. Refer
to Fig. 1 for the load cells used.
Fig. 1. Designed and Implimented load cells
B. Sensor Platform
The sensor platform has a total of 8 load cells integrated
into them. The platform is divided into two parts called sub-
platforms. Each sub-platform has 4 load cells. The outer edges
of the sensor platform are made of coated aluminium to protect
users from it’s sharp edges. For each sub-platform, the length
is 1.49m and the width is 0.89m, the area of a sub-platform is
1.326m2 hence the total area of the sensor platform is 2.652m2 .
The relatively small area is preferred because of portability
concerns and more accurate readings were observed when the
distance between the load cells were kept as small as possible.
The total area allows for a minimum of up two complete
gait cycles for an average human which is sufficient for data
collection. There is a metal bar crossed in the middle of both
sub-platforms to provide stability when weight is placed on it
or when humans are walking on it.
The working principle of the sensor platform is very similar
to other weighing scales. Weights are placed on the sensor
platform or humans are as asked to walk on it for data
collection. The only components that require power supply
in the sensor platform are the load cells. The voltage supply
comes from an arduino microprocessor which is powered by a
9V battery. This 9V battery is rechargeable and solar energy is
compatible with the battery charging circuit designed for the
prototype. For weight measurement, weight may be placed on
any part of the sensor platform and the microprocessor can
present the measured weight sensed by individual load cells,
and the total weight from all the load cells. The closer a weight
is to a load cell the higher it’s readings are relative to other load
cells. This form of data presentation makes it easy to determine
three things. The ability to locate the position of the weights
placed on the platform, individual weight measurements and
total weights on the sensor platform at a particular time. Fig. 2
shows the side view sketch of a sub-platform, while Fig. 3 and
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Fig. 4 shows the top and bottom views respectively. Fig. 5
shows the final sensor platform designed and used in this
project.
Fig. 2. Side sketch view a sub-platform
Fig. 3. Top sketch view of a sub-platform
C. Data Processing board
The data processing board is were data analysis takes place.
It contains an arduino microprocessor, a bluetooth module, SD
card, 9V battery and several HX711 amplifiers. The arduino
used in this prototype is arduino uno, and it is powered by the
9V battery, and in turn it powers the rest of the components in
the data processing board and the load cells. The 9V battery
is rechargeable using solar energy.
The bluetooth module used is the HC-05 HC05 Wireless
Bluetooth Serial Port TX RX Module. The bluetooth’s primary
job is to connect the arduino microprocessor to an external
device like a mobile phone or a tablet. The SD card keeps
a record of all the activities when the blutooth is connected
to an external device. The HX711 amplifiers are connected to
the load cells and the analog inputs of the arduino.
When a static weight or a human stands or walks on the
sensor platform, the weights and the patterns of movements on
the platform are sensed by the load cell and the applied force
on the platform is converted to electrical signals. These signals
are fed into the HX711 amplifier for amplification before they
are send to the arduino. After the data has been processed, an
external device can be connected with the bluetooth module for
data representation. The arduino can also present data through
one of its serial ports. Refer to Fig. 6 for the data processing
board schematic diagram.
III. CALIBRATION AND GAIT ANALYSIS
Calibration is an operation that, under specified conditions,
establishes the relationship between the value of force applied
to a load cell and the corresponding value of the indicated

Fig. 4. Bottom sketch view a sub-platform
Fig. 5. Final sensor platform
load cell output, where both values have associated measure-
ment uncertainties [4]. Different laboratory instruments like
oscilloscopes, piezoelectric sensors and load cells are often
calibrated. The periodic calibration of these devices guarantees
and optimizes the quality of the acquired data [5]. Two types
of calibrations were performed, static calibration and dynamic
calibration.
A. Static Calibration
Static calibration generally refers to input-output relations
obtained when only one input of an instrument is varied at a
time, while all other inputs are kept constant. Individual static
weights were placed on the sensor platform for calibration and
weighting. Different weights ranging from 1kg to 13kg were
measured on the sensor platform for data collection.
B. Dynamic Calibration
Similar to static calibration, static weights were used rang-
ing from 1kg to 13kg. However instead of placing a specific
weight on the sensor platform at a specific time, weights were
dropped, rolled and thrown on the sensor platform and multiple
reading instead of one were taking of the same weights. Care
must be taken when dropping objects on the sensor platform.
In [6], Load cells used on scales in which objects were
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dropped onto it for weighing had often showed output failures
approximately after one year of use.
C. Hysteresis
Hysteresis is the difference between two load cell output
readings for the same applied load – one reading obtained by
increasing the load from zero, the other by decreasing the load
from the load cells maximum rated capacity [7]. First, 1kg is
loaded onto the sensor platform and the output is recorded.
The load is then increased 1kg at a time up to 13kg and
individual output for every increment were recorded. Then,
all the weights were unloaded, starting with 13kg, the weights
were decreased 1kg at a time until and the output for individual
decrements were recorded.
D. Gait Analysis
Since the body weight impacts the foot locomotion, it is
important to study how the forces move from heel to mid
stance to push off regions [8]. When the heel strikes the
ground, the force rises sharply. As the weight of the person
is distributed on the heel, the force stops growing and begins
to fall as the weight is distributed to the entire foot [8]. The
pressure then grows as the weight shifts forward and spikes as
the weight is focused on the mid stance and toe [8]. The sensor
platform in this project was viewed as a common Cartesian
coordinate system or x-y coordinate for short, where ’x’ and
’y’ represented the x and y coordinates on the sensor platform.
The position(x-y) a particular human foot occupied on the
sensor platform and the weight(w) exerted on the platform
were first determined and recorded. The difference between the
amount of force exerted by the heel and the toe of a particular
foot was also recorded. Then the transition time between heel
and foot and the time between two successive foot was also
recorded.
For the x-y position, singular value decomposition was used
with the aid of matlab. The relationship in (1) below was used
to find the x-y position. letters a,b,c,d,e,f represent a constant
which were determined by singular value decomposition. The
letter w, represents the different weights on the sensor plat-
form. The multiple w represents the different weights placed
at the same place on the sensor platform at a time.
 
 w
a b c d  0
  
x
= w1 (1)
y e f g h
wn
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A. Android App for smart scale
Fig. 7 shows the step by step operational flow of the mobile
application which was developed for weighting and recording
weights if the system is used as a smart scale.
The following are the steps involved when using the mobile
application on an android to weigh materials.
• Turn on the bluetooth on the android device and open the
app.
• Click on iDrop.
 Fig. 6. Data processing board schematic diagram
Fig. 7. Android App Operational Flow
• Enter login details.
• The app on the android device connects with the HC-05
bluetooth built in the data processing unit. After a con-
nection has been established the rest of the components
will turn on and initialize.
• The app would request the user to drop a weight on the
sensor platform and wait.
• The dropped item would be weighed and recorded.
• The app would close automatically after recording the
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weight.
B. Calibration
Static calibration was done on different weights ranging
from 1kg to 13kg with 1kg increment at a time. The static
calibration was done to find the calibration factor of individual
load cells. Weights of other loads that were not used for the
static calibration were measured to determined the reading
errors associated with the static calibration.
Dynamic calibration was done by rolling, dropping and
throwing different weights on the sensor platform. After
recording the calibration factor, some weights were used on
the sensor platform to check the accuracy in a dynamic
environment. The average value for each weight of the load
is determined by reading multiple values for each particular
weight. The prototype developed for this project was intended
to allow for human motion, so dynamic calibration and move-
ment is required to test the accuracy of the sensor platform.
From Table. I, the average reading for 8kg is about 7.97kg.
A difference of about 0.03kg, which can be further reduced
by adjusting the calibration factor but it is almost impossible
to totally eradicate the uncertainties associated with the load
cells and the sensor platform.
TABLE I
DYNAMIC M EASUREMENT
Input(kg) 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
Output(kg) 7.8 8 8.1 7.7 8.2 7.7 8.3

Fig. 9. Force exerted by heel and toe on the sensor platform as seen on the
arduino serial plotter
Fig. 8. Hysteresis Results
C. Hysteresis
With reference to Fig. 8, Hysteresis associated with the
sensor platform was tested by gradually adding weights on the
sensor platform and recording the output values. This phase
is called loading, the reverse is called unloading. The loading
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and the unloading used weights ranging from 1kg to 13kg with
1kg increment or decrements at a time. During the hysteresis
test, the highest weight difference in measurement was about
0.2kg.
D. Gait analysis
Ten people walked on the sensor platform for the gait
analysis. Ten unique foot pressure distributions were recorded
and are represented in Fig. 9. With different foot sizes, foot
structures and body weights, the amount of force exerted
on the sensor platform differs from one person to the next
within the chosen sample size. From Fig. 9, the longest spikes
represent the heel strikes and the immediate shorter spikes
represented the toe strike.
V. CONCLUSION
A smart scale tracking system using load cells has been
presented in this paper. The prototype can be used in mul-
tiple environments, as a smart weighing scale and also as a
standalone biometric device. This prototype would be ideal
in an environment with multiple employees were loading
and unloading weights is the main focus. An employee can
be identified by their gait while the system can keep track
of weight measurement at the same time. With solar power
capabilities this prototype is cheap and sustainable.
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