Development of an EMG-driven control system for a wearable mechatronic elbow brace

The focus of this research is the implementation of a control system which actuates a wearable mechatronics-enabled elbow brace (ME-brace) through elbow motion tracking tasks using estimates derived from an EMG-driven mapping model. The accuracy and repeatability of the control system during a tracking task, using data collected from healthy subjects, has been quantified to support improvement of future devices and control systems. The mean accuracy, represented by the root mean square error in position between the subject and brace, and the repeatability, represented by the mean standard deviation between brace trials, was found to be 1.22 ± 0.28° and 0.10°, respectively. As no targets exist in the literature for these quantities, this research provides a baseline measurement of the accuracy and repeatability of controlling a wearable mechatronic elbow brace during an elbow tracking task.