Pass-On Control: Personalized Assistive Online Control for a Wrist Exosuit

Scheidl MA, Thürauf S, Castellini C, Behrendt J (2026)

Publication Type: Conference contribution, Conference Contribution

Publication year: 2026

Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.

Pages Range: 1047-1053

Conference Proceedings Title: 2026 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integration, SII 2026

Event location: Cancun MX

ISBN: 9781665457842

DOI: 10.1109/SII64115.2026.11404706

Abstract

We present a multimodal control system for a tendon-driven soft wrist exosuit that delivers personalized, angle- and mode-sensitive assistance during wrist flexion-extension. Our hierarchical architecture combines surface electromyography (sEMG) and inertial measurements through a three-layer controller comprising an intent recognizer, an angle-specific EMG normalization layer, and a low-level impedance controller. In a pilot study with four healthy participants performing repetitive wrist tasks at slow and fast speeds, with and without a 2.5 kg load, our controller substantially compensated the additional external load when present. Compared with unassisted trials under load, median normalized extensor activity decreased by approximately 30% (Cohen's d > 1.7), and the fatigue-related drift in EMG across repetitions was eliminated. In contrast, assistance slightly increased EMG in the no-load condition. Assistance introduced a modest accuracy penalty: root-mean-square error and peak error rose by roughly 1-2° but remained below 4° on average. These results demonstrate that integrating angle-dependent EMG normalization with inertial sensing enables effective, task-specific unloading of the wrist while maintaining functional accuracy. Our findings lay the groundwork for larger studies and clinical applications of soft wrist exosuits.

Authors with CRIS profile

Marc-Anton Scheidl Assistive Intelligent Robotics Lab Sabine Thürauf Assistive Intelligent Robotics Lab Claudio Castellini Assistive Intelligent Robotics Lab

How to cite

APA:

Scheidl, M.-A., Thürauf, S., Castellini, C., & Behrendt, J. (2026). Pass-On Control: Personalized Assistive Online Control for a Wrist Exosuit. In 2026 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integration, SII 2026 (pp. 1047-1053). Cancun, MX: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc..

MLA:

Scheidl, Marc-Anton, et al. "Pass-On Control: Personalized Assistive Online Control for a Wrist Exosuit." Proceedings of the 2026 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integration, SII 2026, Cancun Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2026. 1047-1053.

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