editor's blog
Subscribe Now

Muscling Up

We’ve seen gesture recognition before, and the two major modes, if you will, are using cameras (either 2- or 3-D) to “see” and interpret gestures and using inertial sensors to detect hand motion and infer gestures.

Thalmic is about to launch its own gesture control armband, but they rely on a completely different source of information for detecting gestures: muscle movements. Or, more accurately, the electrical signals that govern muscle movement.

The measurement technique is called “electromyography” (EMG), and the device they’re building is called the Myo. While it does contain an inertial sensor, they say that they can detect much more subtle gestures by reading the muscles and cross-referencing that information with that of the IMU, making outsized gesturing less necessary. They claim that the EMG readings are impervious to sweat, dryness, heat, hair, and differences in muscle tone.

Each device contains 8 EMG sensors plus an IMU, some computing capability, and Bluetooth LE. The signals are processed in the armband; the output is an event representing a classified gesture. All of the usable gestures are pre-defined; they’re keeping the number of gestures to a small number.

While the gestures are fixed, their meanings aren’t. Application developers can use their SDK to assign specific semantics for the gestures within their applications. It’s even possible to fuse the events from two different armbands (one on each arm) for more complex two-handed gesturing.

I talked to them in May at the Embedded Vision Summit (ironic); at that time they had alpha samples out for developers. They recently announced the final design, slimming down and changing the look as compared to the alpha armband. In the process, they had to redo some of the electronics to accommodate the shape – and, according to their blog, they’ve improved the electrical performance in the process. Final devices are now expected to ship in September.

Myo_figure.png

 

This doesn’t strike me as something you’d just wear around; it’s still pretty bulky as an accessory. But using it specifically as an input device for things like gaming is an interesting twist. It will also be interesting to see what new roles EMG may provide in future devices.

Leave a Reply

featured blogs
Jun 2, 2023
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are not just words but values that are exemplified through our culture at Cadence. In the DEI@Cadence blog series, you'll find a community where employees share their perspectives and experiences. By providing a glimpse of their personal...
Jun 2, 2023
I just heard something that really gave me pause for thought -- the fact that everyone experiences two forms of death (given a choice, I'd rather not experience even one)....
Jun 2, 2023
Explore the importance of big data analytics in the semiconductor manufacturing process, as chip designers pull insights from throughout the silicon lifecycle. The post Demanding Chip Complexity and Manufacturing Requirements Call for Data Analytics appeared first on New Hor...

featured video

Automatically Generate, Budget and Optimize UPF with Synopsys Verdi UPF Architect

Sponsored by Synopsys

Learn to translate a high-level power intent from CSV to a consumable UPF across a typical ASIC design flow using Verdi UPF Architect. Power Architect can focus on the efficiency of the Power Intent instead of worrying about Syntax & UPF Semantics.

Learn more about Synopsys’ Energy-Efficient SoCs Solutions

featured paper

EC Solver Tech Brief

Sponsored by Cadence Design Systems

The Cadence® Celsius™ EC Solver supports electronics system designers in managing the most challenging thermal/electronic cooling problems quickly and accurately. By utilizing a powerful computational engine and meshing technology, designers can model and analyze the fluid flow and heat transfer of even the most complex electronic system and ensure the electronic cooling system is reliable.

Click to read more

featured chalk talk

PIC32CX-BZ2 and WBZ451 Multi-Protocol Wireless MCU Family
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Microchip
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton and Shishir Malav from Microchip explore the benefits of the PIC32CX-BZ2 and WBZ45 Multi-protocol Wireless MCU Family and how it can make IoT design easier than ever before. They investigate the components included in this multi-protocol wireless MCU family, the details of the software architecture included in this solution, and how you can utilize these MCUs in your next design.
May 4, 2023
4,543 views