How can I measure which finger is moving in a glove?

Question

I am considering building a pair of gloves that make a chorded keyboard. In order to measure whether or not a finger should be triggered, I intend to leverage the fact that as you curl your fingers inside of a glove, the top stretches to accommodate the increased distance.

I'm kind of a electrical noob, but is there a sensor out there would fit this purpose? Or Is there already a known technique for measuring finger movement in gloves?

I remember having seen a demonstration of a Dataglove, which not only could record all degrees of freedom in a hand, but also had feedback. Small inflatable cushions on the fingertips allowed you to give you the feel sensation of touching different materials. Very impressive. Don't know if it was made into a commercial product. — stevenvh, Feb 22 '12 at 17:01
I've been wanting to do the same thing. I often get my best ideas while lying prone on my bed, which is not a comfortable position to use a regular keyboard. — tcrosley, Feb 22 '12 at 17:58

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 22 '12 at 17:19

5

A simple way is to fit a resistive flex sensor to each finger. Eg. http://www.adafruit.com/products/182

answered Feb 22 '12 at 17:19

Toby Jaffey

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Glove =) – Craig Feb 22 '12 at 17:22
What we have here basically is a [strain gauge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strain_gauge). – Count Zero Feb 26 '12 at 20:04

How can I measure which finger is moving in a glove?

1 Answers1