Data Glove That Turns Gestures Into Commands 212
ravidew writes: "Three students at Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center, University of California, have built a motion-sensing glove that can transmit hand gestures to a PC. Within 3 years they hope to build sensors that are no bigger than 1mm and can be glued to each fingernail. Now you can really tell Windows what you think ..." While you're at the Sensor and Actuator Center, check out Kris Pister's smart dust.
Me like.... (Score:1, Informative)
Anyone remember Nintendo's glove-thingy? That was *awesome* for Punch-out!
Here's some other, slightly more useful links. (Score:3, Informative)
Adapted uses of the Power Glove to VR world navigation [dmu.ac.uk]
History of the Power Glove [angelfire.com]
I remember those things. (Score:3, Informative)
I've also seen schematics & drivers so that you can connect your power glove to a serial port & use it as a mouse replacement.
Been there, done that, love it! (Score:4, Informative)
I used dual 3-axis accelerometers for the hand motion, and discrete switches to determine
finger joint position. The wires were sewn into the glove directly.
The result was very accurate hand movement, with the trade off of less complex finger movements.
Needless to say, I like the idea. It is a _very_ natural interface for a lot of applications. The glove is a little unwieldy, but for some reason beyond comprehension, everyone who does this seems to build theirs around the heaviest winter glove they can find... What someone needs to do is to build this using discreet sealed components, on the outside of thin, air-holed neoprene (similar to a bicyclist's glove.)
Also, the software is the key to whether this really works out. You need a virtual keyboard app (similar to what pen laptops use), plus a gesture pad (a la grafitti or CAD gestures), plus a standard mouse driver. (I never got around to polshing my software beyond anywhere other than manipulating a Rubik's-style 3D Cube. No, you couldn't acutally solve it.)
Re:I remember those things. (Score:2, Informative)
This thing, on the other hand (no pun intended, honest!), uses accelerometers, which are probably more reliable than the metal strips, and don't require any receivers. The down-side is that it won't give you an absolute position, unless you do some calibration (but the Power-Glove didn't do that either).
Johny Mnemonic, Anyone? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Great keyboard replacement for handhelds (Score:3, Informative)
Those roll-out mat keyboards have been around for some time. They drive touch typists nuts because they don't "feel" anything like typing.
I personally still use an 8-pound IBM PS/2 keyboard because I crave the clickety-clack of those wonderful mechanical switches.
Re: nice peace of hardware (Score:2, Informative)
And some images are located there [dmu.ac.uk]:
Nothing new (Score:2, Informative)
Their homepage. [5dt.com]
Their hardware page (includes data gloves). [5dt.com]
One of the data glove pages. [5dt.com]