The Impact of Feature Extraction on Classification Accuracy Examined by Employing a Signal Transformer to Classify Hand Gestures Using Surface Electromyography Signals

Interest in developing techniques for acquiring and decoding biological signals is on the rise in the research community. This interest spans various applications, with a particular focus on prosthetic control and rehabilitation, where achieving precise hand gesture recognition using surface electromyography signals is crucial due to the complexity and variability of surface electromyography data. Advanced signal processing and data analysis techniques are required to effectively extract meaningful information from these signals. In our study, we utilized three datasets: NinaPro Database 1, CapgMyo Database A, and CapgMyo Database B. These datasets were chosen for their open-source availability and established role in evaluating surface electromyography classifiers. Hand gesture recognition using surface electromyography signals draws inspiration from image classification algorithms, leading to the introduction and development of the Novel Signal Transformer. We systematically investigated two feature extraction techniques for surface electromyography signals: the Fast Fourier Transform and wavelet-based feature extraction. Our study demonstrated significant advancements in surface electromyography signal classification, particularly in the Ninapro database 1 and CapgMyo dataset A, surpassing existing results in the literature. The newly introduced Signal Transformer outperformed traditional Convolutional Neural Networks by excelling in capturing structural details and incorporating global information from image-like signals through robust basis functions. Additionally, the inclusion of an attention mechanism within the Signal Transformer highlighted the significance of electrode readings, improving classification accuracy. These findings underscore the potential of the Signal Transformer as a powerful tool for precise and effective surface electromyography signal classification, promising applications in prosthetic control and rehabilitation.