Increasing Electrical Muscle Stimulation's Dexterity by means of Back of the Hand Actuation
Increasing Electrical Muscle Stimulation's Dexterity by means of Back of the Hand Actuation
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DOI：
10.1145/3411764.3445761
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发表时间：
2021-05
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Akifumi Takahashi;Jas Brooks;H. Kajimoto;Pedro Lopes
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文献类型：
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作者：
Akifumi Takahashi;Jas Brooks;H. Kajimoto;Pedro Lopes
我们提出了一种技术，允许在电肌肉刺激（EMS），即，它允许交互式的基于EMS的设备彼此独立地弯曲用户的手指。EMS是一种很有前途的力反馈技术，因为它的小形状因子相比，机械致动器。然而，当前用于弯曲用户手指的EMS方法（即，将电极连接到前臂的基部，其中手指肌肉锚）由于其不能独立于其它手指弯曲目标手指的掌指（MCP）关节而受到限制。换句话说，当前的EMS装置不能单独弯曲一个指状物，它们总是引起对相邻指状物的不期望的致动。为了解决缺乏灵活性的问题，我们提出并验证了一种新的电极布局，该布局将电极放置在手背上，在那里它们刺激手掌中的骨间/蚓状肌肌肉，这些肌肉从未受到EMS的关注。在我们的用户研究中，我们发现与现有EMS电极布局相比，我们的技术提供了四个关键优势：我们的技术（1）更独立地弯曲MCP关节周围的所有四根手指;（2）其他关节（例如近端指间关节）的不必要弯曲较少;（3）对手腕旋转更稳健;（4）减少校准时间。因此，我们的EMS技术使交互式EMS系统的应用程序，需要一个水平的屈曲灵活性，直到现在还没有。我们展示了改进的灵活性与四个示例应用程序：三个乐器教程（钢琴，鼓和吉他）和VR应用程序，使力反馈在个人手指，同时操纵溜溜球。
We propose a technique that allows an unprecedented level of dexterity in electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), i.e., it allows interactive EMS-based devices to flex the user's fingers independently of each other. EMS is a promising technique for force feedback because of its small form factor when compared to mechanical actuators. However, the current EMS approach to flexing the user's fingers (i.e., attaching electrodes to the base of the forearm, where finger muscles anchor) is limited by its inability to flex a target finger's metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint independently of the other fingers. In other words, current EMS devices cannot flex one finger alone, they always induce unwanted actuation to adjacent fingers. To tackle the lack of dexterity, we propose and validate a new electrode layout that places the electrodes on the back of the hand, where they stimulate the interossei/lumbricals muscles in the palm, which have never received attention with regards to EMS. In our user study, we found that our technique offers four key benefits when compared to existing EMS electrode layouts: our technique (1) flexes all four fingers around the MCP joint more independently; (2) has less unwanted flexion of other joints (such as the proximal interphalangeal joint); (3) is more robust to wrist rotations; and (4) reduces calibration time. Therefore, our EMS technique enables applications for interactive EMS systems that require a level of flexion dexterity not available until now. We demonstrate the improved dexterity with four example applications: three musical instrumental tutorials (piano, drum, and guitar) and a VR application that renders force feedback in individual fingers while manipulating a yo-yo.