Emg based bio-cooperative direct force control of an exoskeleton for hand rehabilitation: A preliminary study

Abstract

A control strategy based on the application of the information on intention of movement, obtained through sEMG, to a Direct Force Control algorithm, for the bio-cooperative control of an exoskeleton for hand rehabilitation, is presented. The aim is to implement the assist-as-need paradigm and to provide the appropriate assistance to the patient while performing therapies to restore the capacity of opening and closing the hand. The results obtained from normalization and feature extraction of sEMG signals are satisfactory and will allow us to advance on the implementation of the designed controller.