Development of flexible glove sensors for virtual reality (VR) applications

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) technology has catalyzed the development of flexible sensors to interact with objects in a virtual environment. Current solutions for smart glove sensors are limited by rigid factors. In this article, a novel smart glove is developed that utilizes a flexible sensor made from a polyethylene-carbon composite (Velostat) to manipulate a hand model in a 3-dimensional (3D) virtual reality (VR) environment. The sensors are specifically designed to measure the angle of finger joint flexion, and an interface circuit has been developed to process the joint angle data. The strain sensors attached to the smart glove show a high sensitivity of 59.8 % rad−1, with a response time of 15.8 ms when the joint angle increases from 0° to 30° under the dynamic response test. The fabricated smart glove successfully controls a 3D hand in a VR environment. This proof-of-concept experiment explores the potential application of the smart glove for VR telerehabilitation.