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. 2019 Mar 15;19(6):1308.
doi: 10.3390/s19061308.

Design and Evaluation of a Surface Electromyography-Controlled Steering Assistance Interface

Edric John Cruz Nacpil  1 , Zheng Wang  2 , Rencheng Zheng  3 , Tsutomu Kaizuka  4 , Kimihiko Nakano  5
Affiliations

Design and Evaluation of a Surface Electromyography-Controlled Steering Assistance Interface

Edric John Cruz Nacpil et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

Millions of drivers could experience shoulder muscle overload when rapidly rotating steering wheels and reduced steering ability at increased steering wheel angles. In order to address these issues for drivers with disability, surface electromyography (sEMG) sensors measuring biceps brachii muscle activity were incorporated into a steering assistance system for remote steering wheel rotation. The path-following accuracy of the sEMG interface with respect to a game steering wheel was evaluated through driving simulator trials. Human participants executed U-turns with differing radii of curvature. For a radius of curvature equal to the minimum vehicle turning radius of 3.6 m, the sEMG interface had significantly greater accuracy than the game steering wheel, with intertrial median lateral errors of 0.5 m and 1.2 m, respectively. For a U-turn with a radius of 7.2 m, the sEMG interface and game steering wheel were comparable in accuracy, with respective intertrial median lateral errors of 1.6 m and 1.4 m. The findings of this study could be utilized to realize accurate sEMG-controlled automobile steering for persons with disability.

Keywords: advanced driver assistance system (ADAS); automated driving; human-machine interface (HMI); surface electromyography (sEMG).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The sponsor had no role in the design, execution, interpretation, or writing of the study.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overall steering assistance control design.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Steering assistance interface for (a) right-handed operation and (b) left-handed operation. (c) Steering direction selected with toggle switch before steering is initiated by surface electromyography (sEMG) signals from isometric contraction of biceps brachii. (d) Holding handle causes photoelectric motion sensor to activate reception of sEMG signals by steering assistance system, whereas releasing handle deactivates signal reception.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relation between muscle contraction input and steering wheel angle output.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Operation flowchart of steering assistance interface.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Steering assistance interface adapted to driving simulator.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Steering assistance control system for driving simulator.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Driving simulator setups for (a) game steering wheel and (b) steering assistance interface.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Driving simulator scenarios consisting of U-turns with radii of curvature equal to (a) 3.6 m and (b) 7.2 m. Note: figures not to scale.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Path-following accuracy of sEMG interface and game steering wheel for U-turns with radii of curvature equal to (a) 3.6 m and (b) 7.2 m. Corresponding steering trajectories are shown for U-turns with radii of curvature equal to (c) 3.6 m and (d) 7.2 m.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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