PsyLink: Cyber Gauntlet +1

So if you ever worked with electromyography, this will come to no surprise to you, but OMG, my signal got so much better once I added a ground electrode and connected it to the ground pin of the Arduino. I tried using a ground electrode before, but connected it to AREF instead of GND, which had no effect, so I prioritized other branches of pareto improvement.

I am once again confused and surprised that I got ANY useful results before.

For prototype #3, I moved the electodes further down towards the wrist in hope that I'll be able to track individual finger movements. It had 17 electrodes, 2x8 going around the wrist, as well as a ground electrode at the lower palm. Only 9 of the 17 electrodes are connected, 8 directly to the ADC pins, and one to 1.65V, which I created through a voltage divider using two 560kΩ resistors between the 3.3V and GND pins of the Arduino, so that the electrode signals will nicely oscillate around the middle of the input voltage range.

It all started out like a piece of goth armwear:

Photo from the testing period:

Soldering wires to the electrodes:

The "opened" state shows the components of the device:

But it can be covered by wrapping around a layer of cloth, turning it into an inconspicuous fingerless glove:

If you look hard at this picture, you can see the LED of the Arduino glowing through the fabric, the voltage divider to the right of it, appearing like a line pressing through the fabric, the ground electrode on the lower right edge of my palm, and the food crumbs on my laptop :)

The signal seems to be much better, and as I move my arm and hand around, I can see distinct patterns using the Arduino IDE signal plotter, but for some reason the neural network doesn't seem to process it as well. Will need some tinkering. I hope it was not a mistake to leave out the electrodes at the upper forearm.

I already ordered parts for the next prototype. If all goes well, it's going to have 33 'trodes using analog multiplexers. The electrodes will be more professional & comfortable as well. Can't wait!