Exercise Monitoring Using Wearable Muscle Sensor (EMG)

OVERVIEW:

In this tutorial we are going to monitor exercises using Muscle BioAmp Patchy (wearable EMG sensor) to track muscle activity during physical exercises such as bicep curls or calf raises. The major goal it to encourage and monitor the user's performance by counting the number of repetitions of a specific exercise movement.

CREDITS: This project is made by Aryan Prakhar, a 4th year engineering student from Netaji Subhas University of Technology, Delhi, India.

How does it work?

Muscle BioAmp Patchy is detecting the electrical activity produced by muscle contractions. This electrical activity is being amplified using the muscle sensor and processed through a series of filters both in hardware as well as in software to isolate EMG signals, which are then used to determine when a muscle has contracted beyond a predefined threshold. This threshold can be calibrated in the Arduino sketch provided.

About Muscle BioAmp Patchy:

Muscle BioAmp Patchy is a small wearable muscle sensor for precise EMG sensing. It can be snapped directly to the gel electrodes, eliminating electrode cables.

The entire BioAmp Hardware series of sensors from Upside Down Labs is designed in a way to teach you the basics of the instrumentation amplifier, active bandpass filtering, soldering, programming, neuroscience, HCI, and BCI just to name a few concepts.

1 x Muscle BioAmp Patchy Kit (Upside Down Labs Store | Amazon India | Robu India | Tindie Store | DigiKey Store)

1. The kit will include:
2. 1 Muscle BioAmp Patchy v0.2,
3. 3 male to female jumper cables (100cm) with 1 reference cable
4. 3 Boxy Gel Electrodes

1 x Arduino Uno with USB Cable

1 x Nuprep Skin Preparation Gel (Upside Down Labs Store | Tindie Store)

1 x Wet wipe

SOFTWARE:

Arduino IDE (Legacy IDE)

Apply NuPrep Skin Preparation Gel on the skin surface as shown above to remove dead skin cells and clean the dirt from skin. After rubbing the skin surface thoroughly, clean it with a wet wipe.

About NuPrep Gel:

NuPrep skin preparation gel is a mildly abrasive, highly conductive gel that should be applied before placing the electrodes on the skin to improve measurements. When applied gently, it strips away the top layer of skin and moistens the underlying skin layer which reduces the skin impedance with minimal skin irritation and discomfort.

Peel off the plastic backing from the gel electrodes and place them at the targeted area as shown above.

1. Connect the jumper cables to Muscle BioAmp Patchy as shown above
2. Snap Muscle BioAmp Patchy on the gel electrodes
3. Connect the reference cable to gel electrode placed at the bony part near your elbow

Connect the Muscle BioAmp Patchy to Maker Uno using jumper cables as directed below:

1. OUT to A0
2. GND to GND
3. VCC to 5V

Download the Arduino IDE from the link given below:

https://www.arduino.cc/en/software

(We have used Arduino IDE version 1.8.19 for this project)

After downloading, connect the Arduino Uno to your laptop using the USB Cable (Type A to Type B)

Note: Make sure your laptop is not connected to a charger and sit 5m away from any AC appliances for best signal acquisition.

Copy paste the Arduino Sketch given below in Arduino IDE:

EMG Counter: https://github.com/upsidedownlabs/Muscle-BioAmp-Arduino-Firmware/blob/main/11_EMG_Counter/EMG_Counter.ino

After flashing the code, open the serial monitor.

The development board (Maker Uno) comes with a programmable BUTTON which is used initiate the exercise session. Once the BUTTON is pressed, the program starts counting the number of times the EMG signal crosses the threshold, which corresponds to the number of exercise repetitions. The count is displayed both on the serial monitor and through a series of LEDs on Maker Uno that lights up progressively as the user completes more repetitions. Additionally, a buzzer provides auditory feedback with a beep for each repetition, enhancing the user's awareness and motivation.

The exercise session lasts for a predefined duration (in this case, 60 seconds), after which the counting stops and serial plotter in Arduino IDE displays the final count of repetitions.

This setup is ideal for users who want to track their progress in specific exercises, ensuring they maintain a consistent pace and correct form throughout their workout. The auditory and visual feedback make it an engaging tool for both beginners and seasoned athletes looking to enhance their physical training routines.

CREDITS: This project is made by Aryan Prakhar, a 4th year engineering student from Netaji Subhas University of Technology, Delhi, India.

You are all set to explore on your own and make amazing HCI projects at the comfort zone of your home.

Let us know your feedback in the comments and feel free to ask any questions.

You can also mail us at support@upsidedownlabs.tech for any kind of support while you are making this project.