Shadow Control of a fully modular prosthetic arm with 3-DoF Shoulder.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Robotics
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Shoulder amputation presents significant challenges for prosthetic limb design and control.
• Existing prosthetic control systems often lack intuitive and adaptable functionality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a master-slave control paradigm for a modular whole-arm prosthesis (HANNES Arm).
• To utilize Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) for replicating intact arm movements in the prosthetic limb.
• To explore quaternion representations for efficient and singularity-free kinematic control.

Main Methods:

• Implemented a master-slave control system using IMUs to capture intact arm movements.
• Employed quaternion representations for human and prosthetic arm kinematics.
• Validated the algorithm through simulations integrating virtual prosthesis and personalized human arm models.
• Utilized optical motion tracking (Vicon) for qualitative performance assessment.

Main Results:

• The proposed algorithm demonstrated satisfactory performance in simulations, closely matching qualitative assessments.
• Minor alignment errors were observed but did not significantly impede overall functionality.
• The system successfully computed prosthetic joint rotations based on intact arm configurations.

Conclusions:

• The master-slave control paradigm offers a computationally efficient and singularity-free method for prosthetic arm control.
• The algorithm's adaptability shows potential for personalized prosthetic applications, improving amputees' quality of life.
• This research advances prosthetic technology and deepens the understanding of human-prosthetic integration.