Evaluation of human-Myo gesture control capabilities in continuous search and select operations

Tactile and haptic devices can be used to control and interact with a wide range of systems, including games, virtual environments and assistive technologies. Although many psychophysical studies have measured thresholds of human sensory capabilities for interpreting haptic and tactile feedback, relatively little is known about the precision with which we are able to guide the behavior of a system based on kinesthetic and myoelectric gestures. A broad study of the latter problem is important, especially now that a number of devices have appeared - such as the Leap Motion Controller and the Myo armband - which enable humans to use finger, hand and arm gestures to interact with the digital world. This paper provides a broad overview on the topic, and reports a set of preliminary experiments on the extent to which the Myo armband can be used to control auditory feedback in real time. Test results are evaluated based on a Bayesian statistical model of an empirical (but for the most part, unambiguous) performance scale. The goal is to investigate ways in which visually impaired users could use the Myo to control the output of an assistive technology.