Recent Trends in EMG-Based Control Methods for Assistive Robots

Abstract

Any person would like to spend his or her entire life time as an individual without becoming a dependant person by any means. Nonetheless, there are several instances where a human being would fail to achieve this due to physical problems which preventing him/her from acting as an individual. In most cases, after a stroke, brain or orthopedic trauma, brain damage due to an accident or a cognitive disease the victim will definitely have to undergo physical or cognitive rehabilitation in order to get him used to changed body conditions. In modern society, a considerable percentage of population is physically weak due to aging, congenital diseases, physical diseases and occupational hazards [1, 2]. Such people need a dexterous assistive methodology to regain the normal activities of daily living (ADL). Not only they, those with a missing limb (e.g. due to an amputation), should also be furnished with necessary aids which would enable them to regain the individuality. The development of proper devices for the purpose of rehabilitation, human power assistance and as replacements to body parts has a long history [3, 4] which has reached a high point due to recent developments in technology, such as robotics, biomedical signal processing, soft computing and advances in sensors and actuators over the past few decades. With many advances, capabilities and potential, still biological signal based control has a long way to go before reaching the realm of professional and commercial applications [5].