Information about limb movements can be used for monitoring physical activities or for human-machine-interface applications. In recent years, a technique called Force Myography (FMG) has gained ever-increasing traction among researchers to extract such information. FMG uses force sensors to register the variation of muscle stiffness patterns around a limb during different movements. Using machine learning algorithms, researchers are able to predict many different limb activities. This review paper presents state-of-art research and development on FMG technology in the past 20 years. It summarizes the research progress in both the hardware design and the signal processing techniques. It also discusses the challenges that need to be solved before FMG can be used in an everyday scenario. This paper aims to provide new insight into FMG technology and contribute to its advancement.
Keywords: FMG; force myography; human-computer interface; motions; muscle; signal processing; wearable.