Flexible coding scheme for robotic arm control driven by motor imagery decoding

Objective. Brain computer interface (BCI) technology is an innovative way of information exchange, which can effectively convert physiological signals into control instructions of machines. Due to its spontaneity and device independence, the motor imagery (MI) electroencephalography (EEG) signal is used as a common BCI signal source to achieve direct control of external devices. Several online MI EEG-based systems have shown potential for rehabilitation. However, the generalization ability of the current classification model of MI tasks is still limited and the real-time prototype is far from widespread in practice.Approach. To solve these problems, this paper proposes an optimized neural network architecture based on our previous work. Firstly, the artifact components in the MI-EEG signal are removed by using the threshold and threshold function related to the artifact removal evaluation index, and then the data is augmented by the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) algorithm. Furthermore, the ensemble learning (EL) method and fine-tuning strategy in transfer learning (TL) are used to optimize the classification model. Finally, combined with the flexible binary encoding strategy, the EEG signal recognition results are mapped to the control commands of the robotic arm, which realizes multiple degrees of freedom control of the robotic arm.Main results. The results show that EMD has an obvious data amount enhancement effect on a small dataset, and the EL and TL can improve intra-subject and inter-subject model evaluation performance, respectively. The use of a binary coding method realizes the expansion of control instructions, i.e. four kinds of MI-EEG signals are used to complete the control of 7 degrees of freedom of the robotic arm.Significance. Our work not only improves the classification accuracy of the subject and the generality of the classification model while also extending the BCI control instruction set.