Hand Motion Capture
Acceleglove Applications
The AcceleGlove was designed as a tool to assist any type of gesture capture study, project, or application that wanted to utilize the movement of the hand, wrist and fingers. While other gloves have been available on the market for several years to perform this kind of work, they were either linked to specific applications, complicated and uncomfortable to use, or simply price prohibitive. The AcceleGlove was designed to overcome all of these limitations, yet still provide the accuracy required for research and the usability required for commercial use.
As a Controller
The AcceleGlove reinvents the concept of an input device, replacing the need for a gamepad, joystick, trackball or mouse. As a Controller, AcceleGlove can use hand or finger movement to act as commands for controlling video games, robots, simulators, virtual reality environments, or any other video or machine based application you might imagine. While previous gaming breakthroughs have incorporated gross arm motion into video games, the AcceleGlove's Patent and Patent Pending technology provides the capability to add the individual movement of the hand and fingers to the equation, expanding the possibilities human interaction.
The AcceleGlove shown at left is controlling a robotic arm at RoboBusiness 2009. In this demonstration, individual finger movements are controlling the waist joint, the elbow joint, and the wrist joint of the robotic arm. With further programming, natural hand and arm motions can be used to control the reaching and grasping functions of a robotic arm, or the direction and speed of a robotic vehicle.
As a Research and Development Tool
The AcceleGlove project was started by researchers who wanted to study hand gestures. As is often the case, first they had to build the tool before they could progress with the research. It was clear that this was not an unusual situation, and every hand gesture recognition project undertaken results in a new laboratory glove.
The AcceleGlove is intended to replace this process, and dramatically move forward the field of hand and gesture study by making an affordable, reliable and accurate research and development tool available. With the purchase of an AcceleGlove and the Software Development Kit (SDK), the world is welcome to use the AcceleGlove for research or application development prototyping. An additional license is required for any commercial product or service developed utilizing the AcceleGlove and SDK, or for redistribution of the AcceleGlove with any product or service.
A researcher is shown here using the AcceleGlove with the SDK to capture a gesture. The visualizer on the screen graphically displays the output from each finger and hand position. The AcceleGlove SDK will capture the individual gesture data to a file, or can record a stream of gesture data over time for further study.
As a Communication Device
Hand gesture communication is the oldest and most recognizable form of silent communications across all cultures. We are all familiar with common gestures used by society today to express approval or disapproval. The AcceleGlove can capture and interpret these gestures into text or auditory communications, or use these gestures to control action on a video screen.
Sign Language:
Silent gesture systems have also been codified and recognized as languages, the most well known being Sign Language, used by Deaf and Hard of Hearing persons. The AcceleGlove was originally conceived to study Sign Language gestures, and an ongoing project to develop an American Sign Language interpretation device is being pursued. Meanwhile, educational products are being developed to assist in teaching American Sign Language, using the AcceleGlove to recognize hand gestures practiced by the student, and providing feedback.
The AcceleGlove is being used with a game in the AcceleSpell™ Kit:Learn to FingerSpell package. The student is presented with a word to fingerspell, and moves around the board as she succeeds. The AcceleGlove recognizes the letters of the alphabet as they are fingerspelled correctly.
Gesture Communications:
Military personnel in the field have long used a defined library of silent gestures to communicate line-of-site while in action. The rise of urban warfare has limited the use of this system as walls and other obstacles often block visual contact between warfighters. Integrating the AcceleGlove into standard field issue gloves would allow these silent communication gestures to continue to be of use by interpreting the gestures into screen-based text or auditory commands, and transmitting this information to the appropriate personnel. Enhanced situational awareness is paramount to the safety of our warfighters. This application would also be useful for civilians working in Emergency Response.