{"id":151557,"date":"2026-03-19T09:00:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=151557"},"modified":"2026-03-19T14:06:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T18:06:00","slug":"ucf-researchers-receive-meta-support-to-study-motor-learning-in-emg-based-interfaces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-researchers-receive-meta-support-to-study-motor-learning-in-emg-based-interfaces\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF Researchers Receive Meta Support to Study Motor Learning in EMG-Based Interfaces"},"content":{"rendered":"

UCF researchers are partnering with Meta Platforms Inc. to study how people learn to control digital systems using muscle signals, work that could improve human-computer interaction in virtual and augmented environments.<\/p>\n

Supported by a gift from Meta, the two-year project uses electromyographic (EMG)-based human-machine interface technology as a platform for investigating motor learning through gamified training systems. While EMG systems are often studied in the context of prosthetic limb control, the broader goal of the project is to understand how adaptive interfaces can become more intuitive and embodied over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Meta support will enable my lab to work on real-world problems that can have an immediate impact on neurotechnologies.\u201d \u2014 Mohsen Rakhshan, assistant professor<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

UCF was selected through Meta\u2019s competitive funding initiative, in part because of its interdisciplinary approach pairing engineering with philosophy and ethics.<\/p>\n

Mohsen Rakhshan, an assistant professor in UCF\u2019s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Disability, Aging and Technology (DAT) faculty cluster initiative, and Jonathan Beever, a professor of philosophy and director of the UCF Center for Ethics, will lead the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Meta support will enable my lab to work on real-world problems that can have an immediate impact on neurotechnologies,\u201d Rakhshan says. \u201cThe impact ranges from individuals using augmented and virtual reality for entertainment to individuals with amputation or paralysis seeking to improve their quality of life. It also gives my engineering students the opportunity to integrate ethics research<\/a> into their technical work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advancing Motor Learning Through EMG<\/h2>\n

EMG-based interfaces translate electrical signals generated by muscle activity into digital commands, allowing users to control devices through subtle physical gestures. In immersive environments, these systems can enable more natural interaction with virtual objects. In rehabilitation settings, they can assist in training neural prostheses.<\/p>\n

The UCF team is using this technology to examine how people learn new motor skills in digital environments, particularly through gamified interaction tasks designed to strengthen human-computer coordination. By training both the participant and the signal-processing algorithm (often called a \u201cdecoder\u201d) simultaneously, through a process known as co-adaptation, researchers aim to create systems that improve alongside the user.<\/p>\n