Soft sensor suits as man-machine interface for wearable power amplifier

The authors have developed innovative soft sensor suits embedded with electromyogram (EMG) and a variety of sensors for measuring human muscle activities. The sensor suits serve as a man-machine interface for human power amplification. This paper focuses on the EMG part of the sensor suits to study the fundamental issue of torque estimation based on the sensor readings. An innovative auto-calibration system is developed in this study based on multi-regression analysis and neural networks, where an universal database, rather than individual database for each operator, is proposed and as a result, the calibration time is dramatically decreased. The calibration system can also compensate for sensor positioning errors. In the end, the sensor suits are applied as a man-machine interface for a soft power amplifier composed of artificial muscles. The artificial muscles are successfully controlled using the torque information estimated by the EMG sensor suits. The relation between torque estimation errors on sensor suits and maneuverability of power amplifier is experimentally verified.

[1]  Yasuharu Koike,et al.  Estimation of dynamic joint torques and trajectory formation from surface electromyography signals using a neural network model , 1995, Biological Cybernetics.

[2]  Shunji Moromugi.  Muscle Stiffness Sensor to Control Assisting Device for Disabled , 2003 .

[3]  Shunji Moromugi,et al.  Ultrasonic sensor disk for detecting muscular force , 2003, The 12th IEEE International Workshop on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, 2003. Proceedings. ROMAN 2003..

[4]  Toshio Tsuji,et al.  A human-assisting manipulator teleoperated by EMG signals and arm motions , 2003, IEEE Trans. Robotics Autom..

[5]  Maria Q. Feng,et al.  Torque Estimation Using Ultrasonic Muscle Activity Sensor(Power Assist and Nursing 2,Session: TP1-C) , 2004 .

[6]  N. Hogan,et al.  Estimation Of Joint Torque From The Surface EMG , 1991, Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Volume 13: 1991.