Magic Glove - wireless hand gesture hardware controller

Humans and machines do not interface well. In an attempt to bridge the gap between humans and the systems they interact with, a plethora of input methods have been devised: keyboards, mouse, joysticks, game controllers, and touch screens are just a few examples. Unfortunately, none of these devices remove the barrier between man and machine. With the Magic Glove control system, we aim to remove this obstruction by allowing the user to control a hardware device using natural gestures. The Magic Glove takes advantage of a multitude of sensors to capture hand movements and uses this information control a device - in this case, a modified RC car. The goal of this paper is to capture simple hand gestures from the Magic Glove and use that input to wirelessly control a modified RC car. Controlled variables include speed, steering, lights and sounds using a combination of flex, force and gyroscopic sensors. Multiple variables are controlled simultaneously as Magic Glove outputs a constant control signal. Testing showed that novice users were able to wear the glove and control the car with only a small amount of instruction. With some future improvements, it may be possible to remove the learning curve completely.