A low-cost sensor glove with vibrotactile feedback and multiple finger joint and hand motion sensing for human-robot interaction

Sensor gloves are widely adopted input devices for several kinds of human-robot interaction applications. Existing glove concepts differ in features and design, but include limitations concerning the captured finger kinematics, position/orientation sensing, wireless operation, and especially economical issues. This paper presents the DAGLOVE which addresses the mentioned limitations with a low-cost design (ca. 300 €). This new sensor glove allows separate measurements of proximal and distal finger joint motions as well as position/orientation detection with an inertial measurement unit (IMU). Those sensors and tactile feedback induced by coin vibration motors at the fingertips are integrated within a wireless, easy-to-use, and open-source system. The design and implementation of hardware and software as well as proof-of-concept experiments are presented. An experimental evaluation of the sensing capabilities shows that proximal and distal finger motions can be acquired separately and that hand position/orientation can be tracked. Further, teleoperation of the iCub humanoid robot is investigated as an exemplary application to highlight the potential of the extended low-cost glove in human-robot interaction.

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