So it's that time in my project cycle again, when my thoughts turn to datagloves and mobility. Clove 3 is an extension of the widely-disseminated Clove 2 and Clove projects, and expands upon the lessons learned. Among the improvements I hope to make with Clove 3:
:: Better materials: Clove 2 was constructed using conductive thread hatched to create rectangular contacts. Use revealed this approach to be unreliable, especially in the long-term, as wear and tear on the contact threads caused increasing pressure to be necessary for proper conduction. Clove 3 uses a combination of conductive thread "traces" with conductive fabric "contacts", which I anticipate will be much more reliable. Preliminary resistance/conductivity tests have supported this hypothesis.
:: Easier typing set: Blogs and users discussing the Clove 2 project were (rightly enough) quick to point out how slow it was to type with Clove 2. Each different letter key was a different finger combination, with several modes to switch between uppercase, lowercase, and numbers/symbols. The memorization necessary and slow speed turned even me off from long-term use of Clove 2. A primary goal of Clove 3 is to simplify typing. I plan to employ a T9 (preductive text)-based approach. The twelve contacts on the palm side of the four fingers can be touched with the thumb just like the twelve keys on a telephone keypad, and will be used to predictively type words in the same way. The contact on the side of the index finger will be touched to skip to the next predicted word, just as in the T9 system. In addition, four contacts on the fingernails of the four fingers will permit switching to an explicit alpha mode, wherein repeated taps of keys will cycle through the letters associated with that key. For example, switching to alpha mode and tapping the [abc] button twice will produce a "b". I feel that this approach will be much more intuitive for the general populace, much easier to learn, and much faster to reach a faster top typing speed. The main disadvantage is slow speed for non-English and non-prose, but I expect to be able to address that with custom dictionaries.
:: More streamlined design: Rather than a glove with a cable to a wrist-mounted electronics package, I plan to attach a small electronics package to the back of the glove with velcro. I anticipate this package to be roughly 2"x2"x(<0.5)", and to consist of the following components:
- Li-Poly battery
- 434 MHz transmitter
- Atmega 328 uC for raw key encoding
- Gyroscope for mousing
The transmitted key/mouse codes will be received by a match 434MHz transmitter connected to a uC board of some kind, hopefully emulating a hybrid HID mouse/keyboard device. I will use an SD card attached to this receiver to store the dictionaries for predictive text, using the Arduino SD library.
:: Mouse abilities: Clenching the four fingers to the palm and holding out the thumb will enable mousing mode, regardless of glove orientation. Tilting the hand will move the mouse cursor, with speed and direction relative to the delta-orientation of the hand. Tapping the index finger side contact will left-click. Either a tap or a release of some kind will right-click. Releasing the clenched fingers disables mouse mode. I do not anticipate the possibility of simultaneous mousing and typing.
My current bill of materials for prototyping:
>> Firm Grip-brand extra-large Utility work gloves, SKU 2020XL, $10 at Home Depot
>> 4.5 square feet of Medtex 180 stretchable conductive fabric, $30 plus shipping and handling from LessEMF
>> Conductive thread from Sparkfun, purchased for Clove 2
>> Conductive wire/solder glue, $5 plus shipping for two containers, to be used to bond conductive thread to a socket on the knuckles of the glove.
>> 434MHz RF transmitter/receiver pair from Sparkfun, purchased during Free Day 2010
>> Two Atmega328 microcontrollers burned with Arduino "Optiboot" bootloaders, one each for the glove and receiver.
Future parts will likely include the gyroscope, a battery and charger, potentially a power-management breakout board or circuit, an enclosure, velcro, and other miscellaneous components.
:: Better materials: Clove 2 was constructed using conductive thread hatched to create rectangular contacts. Use revealed this approach to be unreliable, especially in the long-term, as wear and tear on the contact threads caused increasing pressure to be necessary for proper conduction. Clove 3 uses a combination of conductive thread "traces" with conductive fabric "contacts", which I anticipate will be much more reliable. Preliminary resistance/conductivity tests have supported this hypothesis.
:: Easier typing set: Blogs and users discussing the Clove 2 project were (rightly enough) quick to point out how slow it was to type with Clove 2. Each different letter key was a different finger combination, with several modes to switch between uppercase, lowercase, and numbers/symbols. The memorization necessary and slow speed turned even me off from long-term use of Clove 2. A primary goal of Clove 3 is to simplify typing. I plan to employ a T9 (preductive text)-based approach. The twelve contacts on the palm side of the four fingers can be touched with the thumb just like the twelve keys on a telephone keypad, and will be used to predictively type words in the same way. The contact on the side of the index finger will be touched to skip to the next predicted word, just as in the T9 system. In addition, four contacts on the fingernails of the four fingers will permit switching to an explicit alpha mode, wherein repeated taps of keys will cycle through the letters associated with that key. For example, switching to alpha mode and tapping the [abc] button twice will produce a "b". I feel that this approach will be much more intuitive for the general populace, much easier to learn, and much faster to reach a faster top typing speed. The main disadvantage is slow speed for non-English and non-prose, but I expect to be able to address that with custom dictionaries.
:: More streamlined design: Rather than a glove with a cable to a wrist-mounted electronics package, I plan to attach a small electronics package to the back of the glove with velcro. I anticipate this package to be roughly 2"x2"x(<0.5)", and to consist of the following components:
- Li-Poly battery
- 434 MHz transmitter
- Atmega 328 uC for raw key encoding
- Gyroscope for mousing
The transmitted key/mouse codes will be received by a match 434MHz transmitter connected to a uC board of some kind, hopefully emulating a hybrid HID mouse/keyboard device. I will use an SD card attached to this receiver to store the dictionaries for predictive text, using the Arduino SD library.
:: Mouse abilities: Clenching the four fingers to the palm and holding out the thumb will enable mousing mode, regardless of glove orientation. Tilting the hand will move the mouse cursor, with speed and direction relative to the delta-orientation of the hand. Tapping the index finger side contact will left-click. Either a tap or a release of some kind will right-click. Releasing the clenched fingers disables mouse mode. I do not anticipate the possibility of simultaneous mousing and typing.
My current bill of materials for prototyping:
>> Firm Grip-brand extra-large Utility work gloves, SKU 2020XL, $10 at Home Depot
>> 4.5 square feet of Medtex 180 stretchable conductive fabric, $30 plus shipping and handling from LessEMF
>> Conductive thread from Sparkfun, purchased for Clove 2
>> Conductive wire/solder glue, $5 plus shipping for two containers, to be used to bond conductive thread to a socket on the knuckles of the glove.
>> 434MHz RF transmitter/receiver pair from Sparkfun, purchased during Free Day 2010
>> Two Atmega328 microcontrollers burned with Arduino "Optiboot" bootloaders, one each for the glove and receiver.
Future parts will likely include the gyroscope, a battery and charger, potentially a power-management breakout board or circuit, an enclosure, velcro, and other miscellaneous components.
