Task-oriented human-robot interaction control of a robotic glove utilizing forearm electromyography

Task-oriented myoelectric assistive control of a robotic glove based on forearm electromyography for practical grasping tasks is investigated in this work. Three grasping functions are considered: human intent detection of grasping tasks, grasping mode recognition, and grasping force control. Different combinations of forearm electromyographic signals are adopted for the three functions. Firstly, the overall electromyographic signal is used to trigger the whole grasping task. Secondly, a novel Long Short-Term Memory network is utilized to classify various grasping modes, including pinch grasping and palmar grasping, by analyzing eight-channel electromyographic signals. Thirdly, two-channel proportional control of grasping force using electromyographic flexor/extensor signals is adopted for the robotic glove such that the human hand can relax during the grasping task, while the robotic glove maintains the grasping force. To this end, finite state machine based hierarchical control architecture is proposed for the whole grasping task. Experiments are conducted to validate the proposed task-oriented assistive control method, and the results clearly demonstrates the potential of the proposed method in rehabilitation therapy.