Efficiently Training Two-DoF Hand-Wrist EMG-Force Models

Single-use EMG-force models (i.e., a new model is trained each time the electrodes are donned) are used in various areas, including ergonomics assessment, clinical biomechanics, and motor control research. For one degree of freedom (1-DoF) tasks, input-output (black box) models are common. Recently, black box models have expanded to 2-DoF tasks. To facilitate efficient training, we examined parameters of black box model training methods in 2-DoF force-varying, constant-posture tasks consisting of hand open-close combined with one wrist DoF. We found that approximately 40-60 s of training data is best, with progressively higher EMG-force errors occurring for progressively shorter training durations. Surprisingly, 2-DoF models in which the dynamics were universal across all subjects (only channel gain was trained to each subject) generally performed 15-21% better than models in which the complete dynamics were trained to each subject. In summary, lower error EMG-force models can be formed through diligent attention to optimization of these factors.