This Gaming Glove Lets You Control Games With Just Hand Gestures

Dhir Acharya - Aug 25, 2020

Gaming gloves were created to provide gamers with an immersive way to control their actions in games, but they weren't truly practical until now.

For a long time, gamers have dreamed of an immersive way to control their games with no more than hand gestures. That’s why gaming gloves were born, but it wasn’t until now that this invention was truly practical.

A team at the National University of Singapore has created InfinityGlove, a smart glove that solves the existing problems with flexibility and weight of gaming gloves. They did it by weaving highly sensitive, ultra-thin microfiber sensors into its materials.

As a result, wearers can use the glove to recreate a multitude of controls in a game just with their hand gestures. Team member Professor Lim Chwee Teck said:

“We were very much inspired by the need to remotely control tasks with just hand gestures.”

He added that existing commercial technology isn’t very responsive, causing a strain on the wearer’s hands after extended use because they are bulky. The team, on the other hand, gesture-based control integrated into lightweight gloves can take us closer to achieving a truly immersive interface between machines and humans.

The InfinityGlove comes with 5 thread-like sensors for the 5 fingers. The sensors interact with game software to create 3D positions of the wearer’s moving hand.

Then, the positions are mapped to controller inputs. With 11 inputs mapped, the team was able to play games like Battlefield V.

However, the applications of InfinityGlove aren't limited to gaming only. It can help with hand rehabilitation or gaming for rehabilitation that motivates patients to keep exercising their hands through gaming experiences.

Besides, the glove can be used for tracking a patient’s hand gesturing progress. Eventually, the team wants to integrate the InfinityGlove into complex gaming, VR realms, as well as robotic control.