Development of a myoelectric joystick: A preliminary study

Current manual joysticks have been widely used to control various artificial devices, but they are expensive and composed of mechanically bulky frames. To address these issues, we developed a myoelectric joystick using surface electromyogram (sEMG) from six muscles that make a wrist joint move. Fluid wrist movements were estimated by introducing a non-negative muscle synergy matrix and a joint synergy matrix. Only four movements were predefined (wrist extension, wrist flexion, radial deviation, and ulnar deviation) to construct the muscle synergy matrix, but an experimental result showed that a variety of movements (e.g., a combination of wrist extension and ulnar deviation) could be extracted using the joint matrix. This work also could be extended for development of an alternative computer interface and powered wrist prosthesis for individuals with transradial or wrist disarticulation level amputation.