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Input Devices Java Technology

First Fully Programmable Gesture-Recognition Glove, Cheap 77

Posted by timothy from the classroom-clickers-don't-capture-gestures-correctly dept.
Al writes "The AcceleGlove from AnthroTronix, is the first fully programmable glove that records hand and finger movements. Other gloves — like 5DT's Data Glove, which is used primarily in virtual reality — normally cost $1,000 to $5,000, but the AcceleGlove costs just $499. The AcceleGlove comes with software that lets developers use Java to program it for any application they wish. AnthroTronix initially developed the glove with the US Department of Defense for robotic control but it could also be used in video games, sports training, or physical rehabilitation."
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First Fully Programmable Gesture-Recognition Glove, Cheap More

First Fully Programmable Gesture-Recognition Glove, Cheap

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  • You might consider that price a bargain, for what it does, but that is NOT cheap!

    • Compared to the usual price range which is about ten times what this glove costs, it is quite cheap. Wouldn't you call a new car cheap if it costs just 2000 bucks?

      • Re:"Cheap"??? (Score:4, Insightful)

        by JobyOne ( 1578377 ) on Thursday July 02, 2009 @05:25PM (#28564621) Homepage Journal
        This isn't quite that extreme. I would say a "typical" new car goes for $15,000+, so a better analogy would be a new car costing only $7,500.

        I would be excited that it was cheap, but I would also expect it to be...well...cheap.

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by youn ( 1516637 )

          Oh the obligatory slashdot car analogy to drive the message through :)

          So why is this car so much cheaper anyway... lemme guess... something different in the glove compartment?

        • I would be excited that it was cheap, but I would also expect it to be...well...cheap.

          The Nintendo Power Glove was under a hundred bucks, right? Like 20 years ago?

          But that was designed for kids, this was designed for the military.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Clixx ( 1590223 )
        To be fair, he did say it could be considered a bargain for what it does. Relatively: sure, it's cheap. Absolutely: no, I think it isn't.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward

        It doesn't seem this AcceleGlove really compares with the more expensive data gloves. It has accelerometers for fingers, allowing you to measure their movements, while more expensive gloves include sensors that measure the actual angles of the joints. Basically, this glove has five degrees of freedom for the fingers, the more expensive ones up to twenty or so.

        • You're assuming that you can move finger joints independently. Try bending your little finger without bending your ring finger.

          • No problem. It does take concentration, though, but is entirely possible. I'm fairly sure if someone practiced, he could do it without thinking.

        • Well, for the purpose of something like a game interface, that's actually fairly acceptable, because one can use the inverse kinematics algorithms to reproduce a decent representation of the angles of the joints, simply from the end points of the fingers, that this particular glove *does* track. I've wanted one of these things for certain game prototypes for ages, but no way I'm going to spend $2k+ to get one.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Rayeth ( 1335201 )
      I can agree that the price seems outrageous, however I would say that cheap is fairly applied here. Also note that the product does not seem quite ready for mass market consumption (something which drives price down much more), and until it is I suspect none of these devices will ever seem "cheap" to you.

    • You might consider that price a bargain, for what it does, but that is NOT cheap!

      Poor people. Why do we even let them on the Internet?

    • Ah yes, the age old complaint about misleading headlines. They will never end. I'm sure cheap in this case is a relative word. It's relatively considerably cheaper than the alternatives.

    • Don't worry, manufacturers are working hard to make these gloves cheaper in time for christmas. It's the replacement fingers that will cost you.

    • You might consider that price a bargain, for what it does, but that is NOT cheap!

      Cheap is relative. I know people who have spent $500 on a video card.

      To someone, likely here, they're going holy crap, I need one!

      People spend crazy money on their toys, especially when the price comes down by as much as an order of magnitude!

      Cheers

  • Software is good (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 02, 2009 @05:11PM (#28564431)

    The voice synth part is annoying though when it says, "stop that or you will go blind!" anytime I move the glove vigorously.

  • Yay! That just opens up a whole new world of sex toys...

  • I love the AcceleGlove.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Clixx ( 1590223 ) on Thursday July 02, 2009 @05:14PM (#28564469)
    It's so bad.
  • Now I can jerk off with a robot hand controlled by my real hand!

  • Comments are bizarre (Score:3, Insightful)

    by JobyOne ( 1578377 ) on Thursday July 02, 2009 @05:22PM (#28564581) Homepage Journal
    Completely counting my own comment above...it's amusing to me how many commenters immediately took this news to a perverted place.

  • I remember well a few more "first affordable" devices, from hand writing recognition to HMDs. Usually, you have to sacrifice quality when you drop the price, and usually that's basically what is done.

    I'm not saying this won't be a quality device. I just say I've seen it happen far too often to jump on "first affordable" devices anymore.

  • yawn! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Arthurio ( 1392181 )
    So it has 5 1D accelerometers under each finger connected to a primitive microcontroller and an usb controller? Basically no useful software? For $500 that's probably going to be $800+ when and if it ever reaches Europe? Forgive me but this is hardly exciting. Come beck when you have 32 sensors which I believe is the minimum you'll need if you want to be able to record every movement of a human hand. Then you'll be worth your 3 line slashvertisement.

  • Nintendo called from 1986.... (Score:3, Funny)

    by gwdoiron ( 1590237 ) on Thursday July 02, 2009 @05:43PM (#28564887)
    They want their Powerglove back.

  • Why no wireless? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by badboy_tw2002 ( 524611 ) on Thursday July 02, 2009 @05:47PM (#28564951)

    Why not have bluetooth or wireless USB. Seems like for something interactive you're not going to want to be wired down for it. If game controllers can do it you'd think something 10x the price wouldn't have a wire sticking out the back.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by TubeSteak ( 669689 )

      Why not have bluetooth or wireless USB. Seems like for something interactive you're not going to want to be wired down for it.

      Where do you put the battery?

      Strapping it to your wrist isn't exactly the best idea,
      considering you always want to minimize the mass.
      Anywhere else and you've still got a cord

      • Make it powered via piezoelectric elements. You power it by moving your hand.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by vlad30 ( 44644 )

          Make it powered via piezoelectric elements. You power it by moving your hand.

          1 create glove with piezoelectric elements

          2 sell on Fark,com and slashdot

          3 solved the worlds energy crisis

          4 ??? I think I this isn't required

          5 PROFIT

    • Batteries are heavy.
      Figure out why they didn't make one part of the glove yourself.

    • They do. [5dt.com]

  • I have an application for this.. (Score:3, Funny)

    by fridaynightsmoke ( 1589903 ) on Thursday July 02, 2009 @05:51PM (#28565017) Homepage
    This gesture glove, combined with a large LED-matrix display fitted to the back of my car would take driving to a whole new level.
  • This will go great combined with facial recognition goggles ... so, when you flip someone the bird, your iPhone simultaneous texts them, "FU!" while also hacking into their bank account and stealing all their money! ;-)
  • If you use it with your left hand, it feels like Perl.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Suiggy ( 1544213 )
      Game developers sure do love developing with Java. Yep, this will integrate perfectly into our XBox 360/PS 3/Wii engine. After all, our engine is built in 100% Java. Not any of that crappy C or C++ stuff that the official development kits for those consoles require you use. Nope, I hand rolled my own JRE.

  • Because if it can, I'm sure virtual handjobs from your favorite porn star are just minutes away.

  • In interactive media:
    take off the glove to smack your opponent as you challenge them to a duel!
    play a virtual flute that will make others watching you think you've gone insane!
    Fill the glove with Vasoline and pretend you're Curly(R) from Of Mice and Men(C)!
    Most realistic boss-stabbing simulation ever!
    Aim your gun - WITH YOUR HANDS(TM)! (disclaimer: never aim a gun with other appendages)
    Smack them bitches - LITERALLY!
    Pretend you're a ghost by activating {noclip} and walking through walls! (disclamer:

  • How long before surgeons start using these to perform surgery over the internet?

  • How do you tag this !jacko without it auto-completing to !jackoff?

  • I made a primitive version with a partner in highschool, we did finger bending using potentiometers but never got around to getting position so we used a mouse.
    (I was in charge of software)

    Now I looked at sparkfun and they have a 6 degrees of freedom sensor [sparkfun.com] for $125, add to that six flex sensors ($13 each) and some sort of CPU looks like something around $40 would do and you have your very own data glove for around $250.

  • VR gloves in consumer hands are nothing new. First there was the Nintendo Powerglove and then a while later there was the P5 Glove [vrealities.com] for the PC and soon to be there is Microsofts Natal, which works completly without gloves and instead just with a camera.

    I really don't see anything special about this, especially since the price falls in into the fucking expensive category and not into one where it is interesting for the average consumers.

  • 5DT MRI glove (Score:3, Informative)

    by FooRat ( 182725 ) on Thursday July 02, 2009 @09:02PM (#28566933)

    For some reason the summary links to 5DT's MRI glove, which is specialized for use in MRI applications (no metal) and obviously costs more ... cheaper 'normal' glove is here [5dt.com].

    • A thousand bucks is a lot, though. And for five hundred, I want more than some accelerometers. I want the position of every joint in the hand! I'm serious when I say that a five-sensor project like what they're selling here is within the reach of the experimenter. You will need some cheap little accelerometers (like these? [analog.com]) and a microcontroller with some high-res counters, probably one per axis.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by FooRat ( 182725 )

        The problem is a data glove is not a volume product; even if they could make them much cheaper, this will probably never be a mass consumer product. To make and sell an actual product involves a lot more than just the potential unit manufacturing cost of the tech (office space, marketing, software, distribution, HR, legal, accounting, engineers, managers, making drivers etc.) - unless you're talking about a home-made job, you have to add all that stuff into the price. Personally I doubt you can turn any kin

  • An input device for those of us that have been frustrated for many years by the fact that computers can never tell when we are flipping them off!

  • I just thought of a great way to use this device for those times you have to reboot your system.

  • Ads? On MY Slashdot?

    It's more likely than you think.

    And as a side note.... $500 is never "cheap" unless we're talking cars, houses, real jewelry, or very powerful computers.

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