Muscle to motor communication

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the parameters influencing the signal to noise ratio in surface electromyography as well as the signals usability as a means of control in mechatronical applications. Electromyography refers to the electrical signals detected in the muscles during activation. Receiving a reliable signal presents a number of challenges as the signals are to their nature very weak. There is also a large amount of ambient noise which will drown the signal if left unprocessed. Removal of the noise was performed by using a series of amplifiers and filters to gradually increase the signal to noise ratio. The processed signal was forwarded to a microcontroller for posttreatment, calculation and presentation. A demonstrator was built in order to underline the validity of the theory presented in the report. The project resulted in a fully functional circuit for registering sEMG-signals and forwarding them to an Arduino microcontroller. The signal to noise ratio was satisfactory given the scope of the project. The motor-control using the signal as reference was also successfully performed. In sum, this points towards that sEMG is a strong option for a control signal in mechatronical applications already at a small-scale level of integration.