Research on finger movement sensing performance of conductive gloves

Abstract

Knitted flexible sensors are sensors based on the loop structure of knitted fabric, which are soft and close-fitting. Monitoring finger motion can obtain useful information for some applications such as rehabilitation medicine, sports bionics, or human–computer interaction. In this paper, a conductive glove was knitted by SHIMA Seiki SWG 061N-15G computerized flat knitting machine. One experimenter wore it to measure motions data of index finger. The glove has a conductive intarsia area knitted by silver-nylon filaments. The experimenter performed static and dynamic test of hand posture, respectively, then observed the effect of figure bending characteristics on the glove resistance data. The result showed that human finger motion can be monitored successfully by the conductive glove without hard transducers, and both of the bending rate (Br) and bending angle of the finger proximal interphalangeal joint (Pba) affect the resistance change of the conductive area of the glove. In other words, the conductive glove has potentials to monitor and reflect human finger motions in detail.