User-Centred Design of Multi-DoF Prosthetic Wrist Controllers: Performance and Preference in Daily Living Tasks

Abstract

This study presents a practical, IMU-based control framework for 2-DoF prosthetic wrists, designed to explore the feasibility of supporting functional wrist control in daily tasks. The system employs movement synergies inherent to the upper limb and offers three controller configurations: pronation–supination (PS), radial-ulnar deviation (RUD) and a combined PS-RUD mode. Ten healthy participants, simulating upper-limb amputees, performed four representative activities of daily living in a virtual environment, during which both kinematic performance metrics and user-perceived effort were recorded. Task-specific controllers led to significant reductions in compensatory limb movements, and overall, the combined PS-RUD controller was preferred by users regardless of task completion time. Participants reported lower physical and cognitive effort, underscoring the intuitiveness and usability of the suggested controller. These preliminary findings suggest the potential of a user-centred control strategy for prosthetic wrists that could reduce training burden and facilitate seamless integration into everyday functional use.