[Christopher Mitchell] (previously on Hack a Day) has come up with a rather interesting input device. The Clove 2 glove is a Bluetooth data input interface. The goal is to be able to “type” without the use of a traditional keyboard. Key strokes are achieved through finger movements. Your computer simply sees this as a Bluetooth HID device and some software translates it for you.
While it may seem confusing, he’s designed it to be very similar to typing on a keyboard. Each finger movement or combination is a key stroke. Just like typing on a regular keyboard, there are modifying strokes such as ALT or shift that effect others. Most common used keys require the least combinations of finger movements.
[Christopher] put some extra effort in to making this user friendly by adding some features that you might not have thought of at first. For example, the ALT and shift keys work similar to a phone interface. When you press them, the next keystroke is effected. There is also audio feedback to let you know that this has happened. Each normal keystroke makes a click, while each modifier has a unique tone.
They’re not being stingy with information either. The site has a complete writeup of how to make the glove yourself. Each step has a detailed description and pictures as well as downloadable schematics.
This method of input seems so unobtrusive. We can visualize this being used in warehouses or even by doctors for different types of input when keeping your hands available is necessary. Maybe a sock version should be next in line!
this is nice, if it could be made into soemthing that wasn’t hot to wear i might actually use it.
i think a bra computer interface device would be far more useful. It would let guys interface with their woman, and their computer all at the same time.
Whoo Stevens Institute of Technology.
That has some pretty far-reaching uses when you consider how configurable it is for disabled persons – i.e. one handed people.
This on one hand, Ben Heck’s Xbox 360 One-handed controller in the other.
Seriously though, I’m glad to see that someone in the civilian sector is making this stuff. I’ve heard that the government might be making something like this, but I’m not sure.
Considering the vast majority of people typing one-handed are going to be those surfing pron, I’m not sure I really want to envision those ‘far-reaching’ uses you mention…
“by adding some features that you might not have thought of at first. For example, the ALT and shift keys work similar to a phone interface. When you press them, the next keystroke is effected.”
That’s exactly how I would of thought of it. first.
@vampyre:
You could probably make the glove less of a glove, and more like a set of rings. It might be neat to see the same idea except using both hands for faster speeds.
A portable keyboard interface is going to become pretty important for the future’s gargoyles.
This is like Splinter Cell: Double Agent when you play online. The spies have a similar glove for their hacking device.
heh that’s interesting, not anything blatantly obvious though .
What’s the music btw?
This needs work. Most of the chipset needs to be on the glove itself so there are fewer wires between glove and battery.
It’s a remix of “Clocks”, by Coldplay.
Thanks for the comments, everyone, glad you like my project. I also see wide applications, and I’m exploring where I want to go next with this. I’m thinking about resistive flex sensors as an alternate finger position determination method, and I’m experimenting with the idea of an accelerometer or tilt sensor to integrate mouse functionality.
Ya, I recognized that, but what remix :\
Awesome……this gives me an idea for a similar mouse application to ease my carpel tunnel. Much easier to accomplish I think.
I agree about the bra application.
Bigd145: I thought about it, but the size of the board would have made it a bit too bulky for my tastes. That definitely would simplify construction, though, and make it more robust. A smaller board would be key.
slickrick, what sensor interface would you use for the mouse? I was thinking an accelerometer to detect hand tilt for the actual movement, and making of the finger combinations enable the mouse when held. Left, right, and double-clicking would be other finger combinations.
Well done. Reminds me of hacking the Nintendo power glove in the early nineties
If the size of it was cut down, I could see devices like this being quite useful for blackberries/smartphones or PDA’s etc. Main hurdle I foresee is actually getting people to use the gloves and not feel stupid for wearing them. There really hasn’t been much innovation on making a decent mobile input device that wasn’t just a small keyboard jammed into a device.
If you have that much dexterity, its clearly much easier to operate a keyboard…with one hand!
Yeah, but the point is for situations where using a keyboard would be impractical or impossible. There are lots of examples of this, like walking, standing, or running; working on jobs like construction, or even military applications.
i wonder, would it not have been better to use one of those fold up keyboards as a base? im guessing they have a much smaller bluetooth module inside. the one i have here runs of two aaa batteries…
I thought about that, but the key set is much more limited, so the matrix of rows and columns might not have been big enough for an optimal finger contact setup. It’s definitely worth some research, though.
How does this differ from the P5 Glove (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P5_glove)? That’s been around for ages, but it never really caught on.
I like the idea of tones to denote actions. Generally the bane of wearable input devices like this is immediate feedback: you don’t get the “clack” of a typed key or the “click” of a mouse button. I’ve seen work on tiny haptic actuators (typically the vibrating motor from an old cellphone) but the tone idea definitely deserves further investigation.
@james: If you check out the software driver, you should get a basic idea of how the tone feedback works. I found it much, much easier to type after I added that.
@Gadgetboi: thanks!