This Robotic Glove Holds Future Potential
The fields of robotics, sports and medicine could see many new developments in the near future, and it’s all thanks to a touch-sensitive glove made from stretchable sensors.
The device was created by researchers from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and uses fibre-optic technology made from thin, elastic cables to interact.
The cables were coated in different colour dyes and had LED lights attached to them, the latter which are disrupted whenever the cables are bent, stretched or put under pressure.
Hedan Bai, a PhD candidate at Cornell, said: “We made a sensor that can sense haptic interactions, in the same way that our own skin sensors interact with the environment.”
Thanks to the elasticity of the cables, they can be applied to smart clothing, wearable devices and robots.
Rob Shepherd, the study lead, says that they are looking to adapt the technology for sports and medical uses.
He said: “We intend on using these stretchable optical fibres for measuring respiration and muscle contractions in the next year.”
Andrew Spielberg of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology remarked: “The fact that it can measure so many deformation modes at one – bend, stretch and press – is very promising.”
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