User-oriented finger-gesture glove controller with hand movement virtualization using flex sensors and a digital accelerometer

A low-cost wireless glove controller that detects finger gestures was developed using makeshift flex sensors and a digital accelerometer. The performance of the makeshift flex sensors was compared to that of commercially available ones. A system using Arduino, Bluetooth, and Processing was developed to allow the user to specify desired finger gestures for controlling a variety of robotic devices. A simple mobile robot (mobot) was used to demonstrate the capabilities of the glove in controlling devices. A 3D virtual environment was also created for the virtualization of the user's hand movements detected by the glove controller. Inside this virtual environment, the user-defined finger gestures also allowed the user to control elements inside the virtual environment which can branch out to various applications including rehabilitation and body-oriented gaming.