Systems, articles, and methods for human-electronics interfaces

Abstract

Human-electronics interfaces in which a wearable electromyography (“EMG”) device is operated to control virtually any electronic device are described. In response to detected muscle activity and/or motions of a user, the wearable EMG device transmits generic gesture identification flags that are not specific to the particular electronic device(s) being controlled. An electronic device being controlled is programmed with user-definable instructions for how to interpret and respond to the gesture identification flags.

1 . A wearable electromyography (“EMG”) device comprising:
 at least one EMG sensor to in use detect muscle activity of a user of the wearable EMG device and provide at least one signal in response to the detected muscle activity; 
 a processor communicatively coupled to the at least one EMG sensor, the processor to in use determine a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least one signal provided by the at least one EMG sensor; and 
 an output terminal communicatively coupled to the processor to in use transmit the gesture identification flag. 
 
     
     
         2 . The wearable EMG device of  claim 1  wherein the gesture identification flag is independent of any downstream processor-based device and generic to a variety of end user applications executable by a variety of downstream processor-based devices useable with the wearable EMG device. 
     
     
         3 . The wearable EMG device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium stores at least a set of gesture identification flags.   
     
     
         4 . The wearable EMG device of  claim 3  wherein the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium stores processor-executable instructions that embody and/or produce a mapping between at least one signal provided by the at least one EMG sensor and at least one gesture identification flag and, when executed by the processor, the processor-executable instructions cause the processor to determine a gesture identification flag in accordance with the mapping. 
     
     
         5 . The wearable EMG device of  claim 3  wherein the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium stores processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to determine a gesture identification flag based at least in part on at least one signal provided by the at least one EMG sensor. 
     
     
         6 . The wearable EMG device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 at least one accelerometer responsive to motion effected by the user of the wearable EMG device and communicatively coupled to the processor to provide at least one signal in response to the detected motion, and wherein the processor determines the gesture identification flag based at least in part on both the at least one signal provided by the at least one EMG sensor and the at least one signal provided by the at least one accelerometer.   
     
     
         7 . The wearable EMG device of  claim 1  wherein the processor is selected from the group consisting of: a digital microprocessor, a digital microcontroller, a digital signal processor, a graphics processing unit, an application specific integrated circuit, a programmable gate array, and a programmable logic unit. 
     
     
         8 . The wearable EMG device of  claim 1  wherein the at least one EMG sensor includes a plurality of EMG sensors, and wherein the wearable EMG device further comprises:
 a set of communicative pathways to route signals provided by the plurality of EMG sensors to the processor, wherein each EMG sensor in the plurality of EMG sensors is communicatively coupled to the processor by at least one communicative pathway from the set of communicative pathways. 
 
     
     
         9 . The wearable EMG device of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 a set of pod structures that form physically coupled links of the wearable EMG device, wherein each pod structure in the set of pod structures is positioned adjacent and physically coupled to at least one other pod structure in the set of pod structures, and wherein the set of pod structures comprises at least two sensor pods and a processor pod, each of the at least two sensor pods comprising a respective EMG sensor from the plurality of EMG sensors and the processor pod comprising the processor.   
     
     
         10 . The wearable EMG device of  claim 9  wherein each pod structure in the set of pod structures is positioned adjacent and in between two other pod structures in the set of pod structures and physically coupled to the two other pod structures in the set of pod structures, and wherein the set of pod structures forms a perimeter of an annular configuration. 
     
     
         11 . The wearable EMG device of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 at least one adaptive coupler, wherein each respective pod structure in the set of pod structures is adaptively physically coupled to at least one adjacent pod structure in the set of pod structures by at least one adaptive coupler.   
     
     
         12 . The wearable EMG device of  claim 1  wherein the output terminal includes at least one of a wireless transmitter and/or a tethered connector port. 
     
     
         13 . The wearable EMG device of  claim 1  wherein the at least one EMG sensor includes at least one capacitive EMG sensor. 
     
     
         14 . A method of operating a wearable electromyography (“EMG”) device to provide electromyographic control of an electronic device, wherein the wearable EMG device includes at least one EMG sensor, a processor, and an output terminal, the method comprising:
 detecting muscle activity of a user of the wearable EMG device by the at least one EMG sensor; 
 providing at least one signal from the at least one EMG sensor to the processor in response to the detected muscle activity; 
 determining, by the processor, a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least one signal provided from the at least one EMG sensor to the processor, wherein the gesture identification flag is independent of the electronic device; and 
 transmitting the gesture identification flag to the electronic device by the output terminal. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein:
 detecting muscle activity of a user of the wearable EMG device by the at least one EMG sensor includes detecting muscle activity of the user of the wearable EMG device by a first EMG sensor and by at least a second EMG sensor, 
 providing at least one signal from the at least one EMG sensor to the processor in response to the detected muscle activity includes providing at least a first signal from the first EMG sensor to the processor in response to the detected muscle activity and providing at least a second signal from the second EMG sensor to the processor in response to the detected muscle activity, and 
 determining, by the processor, a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least one signal provided from the at least one EMG sensor to the processor includes determining, by the processor, a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least a first signal provided from the first EMG sensor to the processor and the at least a second signal provided from the at least a second EMG sensor to the processor. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the wearable EMG device further comprises a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium that stores processor-executable instructions, and wherein determining, by the processor, a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least one signal provided from the at least one EMG sensor to the processor includes executing the processor-executable instructions by the processor to cause the processor to determine a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least one signal provided from the at least one EMG sensor to the processor. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the wearable EMG device further comprises at least one accelerometer, and wherein the method further comprises:
 detecting motion effected by the user of the wearable EMG device by the at least one accelerometer; and 
 providing at least one signal from the at least one accelerometer to the processor in response to the detected motion, 
 and wherein determining a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least one signal provided from the at least one EMG sensor to the processor includes: 
 determining, by the processor, a gesture identification flag based at least in part on both the at least one signal provided from the at least one EMG sensor to the processor and the at least one signal provided from the at least one accelerometer to the processor. 
 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the wearable EMG device further comprises a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium that stores processor-executable instructions, and wherein determining, by the processor, a gesture identification flag based at least in part on both the at least one signal provided from the at least one EMG sensor to the processor and the at least one signal provided from the at least one accelerometer to the processor includes executing the processor-executable instructions by the processor to cause the processor to determine the gesture identification flag based at least in part on both the at least one signal provided from the at least one EMG sensor to the processor and the at least one signal provided from the at least one accelerometer to the processor. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the output terminal includes a wireless transmitter, and wherein transmitting the gesture identification flag to the electronic device by the output terminal includes wirelessly transmitting the gesture identification flag to the electronic device by the wireless transmitter. 
     
     
         20 . A system that enables electromyographic control of an electronic device, the system comprising:
 a wearable electromyography (“EMG”) device comprising:
 at least one EMG sensor responsive to muscle activity of a user of the wearable EMG device and provide at least one signal in response to a detected muscle activity, 
 a first processor communicatively coupled to the at least one EMG sensor, the first processor which in use determines a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least one signal provided by the at least one EMG sensor, and 
 an output terminal communicatively coupled to the first processor to transmit the gesture identification flag; 
   and   an electronic device comprising:
 an input terminal to receive the gesture identification flag, and 
 a second processor communicatively coupled to the input terminal, the second processor which in use determines a function of the electronic device based at least in part on the gesture identification flag. 
   
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 20  wherein the gesture identification flag is independent of the electronic device and generic to a variety of end user applications executable by the electronic device. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 20  wherein the wearable EMG device of the system further comprises:
 a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium communicatively coupled to the first processor, wherein the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium stores at least a set of gesture identification flags. 
 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22  wherein the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of the wearable EMG device stores processor-executable instructions that embody and/or produce a mapping between at least one signal provided by the at least one EMG sensor and at least one gesture identification flag and, when executed by the first processor, the processor-executable instructions cause the first processor to determine a gesture identification flag in accordance with the mapping. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 20  wherein the wearable EMG device of the system further comprises:
 a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium communicatively coupled to the first processor, wherein the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium stores processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the first processor, cause the first processor to determine a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least one signal provided by the at least one EMG sensor. 
 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 20  wherein the wearable EMG device of the system further comprises:
 at least one accelerometer communicatively coupled to the first processor, the at least one accelerometer responsive to motion effected by the user of the wearable EMG device and which provides at least one signal in response to a detected motion, and wherein the first processor determines a gesture identification flag based at least in part on both the at least one signal provided by the at least one EMG sensor and the at least on signal provided by the at least one accelerometer. 
 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 20  wherein the electronic device of the system further comprises:
 a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium communicatively coupled to the second processor, wherein the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium stores at least a set of processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the second processor, cause the second processor to determine a function of the electronic device based at least in part on the gesture identification flag. 
 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 20  wherein the electronic device of the system further comprises:
 a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium communicatively coupled to the second processor, wherein the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium stores: 
 a first application executable by the electronic device; 
 at least a second application executable by the electronic device; 
 a first set of processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the second processor, cause the second processor to determine a function of the first application based at least in part on a gesture identification flag; and 
 a second set of processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the second processor, cause the second processor to determine a function of the second application based at least in part on a gesture identification flag. 
 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 20  wherein the output terminal of the wearable EMG device includes a first tethered connector port, the input terminal of the electronic device includes a second tethered connector port, and further comprising:
 a communicative pathway that in use communicatively couples the first tethered connector port to the second tethered connector port and to route the gesture identification flag from the output terminal of the wearable EMG device to the input terminal of the electronic device. 
 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 20  wherein the output terminal of the wearable EMG device includes a wireless transmitter that in use wirelessly transmits the gesture identification flag and the input terminal of the electronic device includes a tethered connector port, and wherein the system further comprises:
 a wireless receiver that in use communicatively couples to the tethered connector port of the electronic device and to in use wirelessly receive the gesture identification flag from the wireless transmitter of the wearable EMG device. 
 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 20  wherein the output terminal of the wearable EMG device includes a wireless transmitter to wirelessly transmit the gesture identification flag, and wherein the input terminal of the electronic device includes a wireless receiver to wirelessly receive the gesture identification flag from the wireless transmitter of the wearable EMG device. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 20  wherein the electronic device is selected from the group consisting of: a computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a portable electronic device, an audio player, a television, a video player, a video game console, a robot, a light switch, and a vehicle. 
     
     
         32 . A method of electromyographically controlling at least one function of an electronic device by a wearable electromyography (“EMG”) device, wherein the wearable EMG device includes at least one EMG sensor, a first processor, and an output terminal and the electronic device includes an input terminal and a second processor, the method comprising:
 detecting muscle activity of a user of the wearable EMG device by the at least one EMG sensor; 
 providing at least one signal from the at least one EMG sensor to the first processor in response to the detected muscle activity; 
 determining, by the first processor, a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least one signal provided from the at least one EMG sensor to the first processor, wherein the gesture identification flag is independent of the electronic device; 
 transmitting the gesture identification flag by the output terminal of the wearable EMG device; 
 receiving the gesture identification flag by the input terminal of the electronic device; 
 determining, by the second processor, a function of the electronic device based at least in part on the gesture identification flag; and 
 performing the function by the electronic device. 
 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32  wherein:
 detecting muscle activity of a user of the wearable EMG device by the at least one EMG sensor includes detecting muscle activity of the user of the wearable EMG device by a first EMG sensor of the wearable EMG device and by at least a second EMG sensor of the wearable EMG device, 
 providing at least one signal from the at least one EMG sensor to the first processor in response to the detected muscle activity includes providing at least a first signal from the first EMG sensor to the first processor in response to the detected muscle activity and providing at least a second signal from the send EMG sensor to the first processor in response to the detected muscle activity, and 
 determining, by the first processor, a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least one signal provided from the at least one EMG sensor to the first processor includes determining, by the first processor, a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least a first signal provided from the first EMG sensor to the first processor and the at least a second signal provided from the at least a second EMG sensor to the first processor. 
 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 32  wherein the wearable EMG device further comprises a non-transitory processor-readable medium that stores processor-executable instructions, and wherein determining, by the first processor, a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least one signal provided from the at least one EMG sensor to the first processor includes executing the processor-executable instructions by the first processor to cause the first processor to determine a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least one signal provided from the at least one EMG sensor to the first processor. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 32  wherein the wearable EMG device further comprises at least one accelerometer, and wherein the method further comprises:
 detecting motion effected by the user of the wearable EMG device by the at least one accelerometer; and 
 providing at least one signal from the at least one accelerometer to the first processor in response to the detected motion, 
 and wherein determining, by the first processor, a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least one signal provided from the at least one EMG sensor to the first processor includes: 
 determining, by the first processor, a gesture identification flag based at least in part on the at least one signal provided from the at least one EMG sensor to the first processor and the at least one signal provided by the at least one accelerometer to the first processor. 
 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 32  wherein the output terminal of the wearable EMG device includes a wireless transmitter and the input terminal of the electronic device includes a wireless receiver, and wherein:
 transmitting the gesture identification flag by the output terminal of the wearable EMG device includes wirelessly transmitting the gesture identification flag by the wireless transmitter of the wearable EMG device, and 
 receiving the gesture identification flag by the input terminal of the electronic device includes wirelessly receiving the gesture identification flag by the wireless receiver of the electronic device. 
 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 32  wherein the electronic device further comprises a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium that stores processor-executable instructions, and wherein determining, by the second processor, a function of the electronic device based at least in part on the gesture identification flag includes executing the processor-executable instructions by the second processor to cause the second processor to determine a function of the electronic device based at least in part on the gesture identification flag.