Smart glove

Combat sports are competitive sports where two fighters fight against each other abiding by certain rules of engagement. Boxing and mixed martial are the most popular and fastest growing combat sports and have become a major source of entertainment for fans and the general public. There are many tools employed that help fighters learn the sports punching and kicking mechanics, defensive and offensive attacks and drills to improve endurance, but rarely do we see technology gadgets employed to assist fighters during this learning process. The purpose of this project is to develop a training glove for fighters that will help them master defense and punching mechanics which in turn will help them improve their endurance. The performance metric of the fighter revolves around three key factors: punch count, punch force and guard level monitoring. The system will keep count of the number of punches thrown during a training session as the fighter hits the bag, measure the punching force and monitor the fighters guard level. This will greatly improve the fighter's defense mechanics because the system will inform the fighter when his hands are down, reminding them that they are making a mistake. This will force the fighter keep his hands up at an appropriate height and angle that is appropriate for defense. The total number of punches and the force count will be saved so that the fighter can compare current and previous training sessions. Graphs such as punch output vs. time and force output vs. time will allow the fighter, and his coach, to see how his punch count and punching power has increased over time. The system will encompass a hardware component and a software component to process all the data provided by the hardware. The hardware component involves the use of accelerometers, force sensors, a microprocessor and transceivers. The software component of the project involves writing software for a mobile device.