Real time simultaneous and proportional control of multiple degrees of freedom from surface EMG: Preliminary results on subjects with limb deficiency

We present the real time simultaneous and proportional control of two degrees of freedom (DoF), using surface electromyographic signals from the residual limbs of three subject with limb deficiency. Three subjects could control a virtual object in two dimensions using their residual muscle activities to achieve goal-oriented tasks. The subjects indicated that they found the control intuitive and useful. These results show that such a simultaneous and proportional control paradigm is a promising direction for multi-functional prosthetic control.