Development of a Wearable Human-Machine Interface to Track Forearm Rotation via an Optical Sensor

The goal of this research was to develop an intuitive wearable human-machine interface (HMI), utilizing an optical sensor. The proposed system quantifies wrist pronation and supination using an optical displacement sensor. Compared with existing systems, this HMI ensures intuitiveness by relying on direct measurement of forearm position, minimizes involved sensors, and is expected to be long-lasting. To test for feasibility, the developed HMI was implemented to control a prosthetic wrist based on forearm rotation of able-bodied subjects. Performance of optical sensor system (OSS) prosthesis control was compared to electromyography (EMG) based direct control, for six able-bodied individuals, using a clothespin relocation task. Results showed that the performance of OSS control was comparable to direct control, therefore validating the feasibility of the OSS HMI.