Show HN: Gauntlet - the glove keyboard • Hacker News Board

Re: Show HN: Gauntlet - the glove keyboard

#11

Post by jiakeliu » Sat, Apr 07, 2012, 6:46 AM UTC

jonursenbach wrote: post #6

Would love to participate in a Kickstarter or something for this.

Since our design uses really inexpensive parts (resistor arrays) to solve a relatively complex problem, we don't need that much funding, so I'm not sure if Kickstarter would be necessary. Although I'm not entirely familiar with Kickstarter. Are there any other benefits besides the money?

Re: Show HN: Gauntlet - the glove keyboard

#12

Post by jiakeliu » Sat, Apr 07, 2012, 6:52 AM UTC

code177 wrote: post #8

Great to see more people exploring the world of wearable interfaces. How does it compare to existing gloves like the Peregrine? ( http://theperegrine.com )

With Google's Project Glass, we are even more inspired to finish Gauntlet. One problem I see with Project Glass is complex input such as typing when voice is not an option. That's when a wearable keyboard interface could come in handy (no pun intended).

The Peregrine actually only has an USB interface, so you are essentially tethered to your computer and cannot use it with your phone\tablet or anything else. It is marketed as a gaming device, which limits the amount of possible inputs. I don't think you can replicate the entire keyboard with the Peregrine, which GAUNTLET could easily do. My hope is to have the comercial version (if pursued) of GAUNTLET to look as aesthetic as, if not better than, the Peregrine.

Re: Show HN: Gauntlet - the glove keyboard

#13

Post by jiakeliu » Sat, Apr 07, 2012, 6:58 AM UTC

andrewljohnson wrote: post #3

jiakeliu wrote: post #2

Haven't seen a bunch of hardware hacks on HN, so I figured I would share our project!

That's pretty cool! The first thing I thought when I saw the page was "that's one ugly glove" - but I'm sure a commercial version would be much different. This also gave me flashbacks to the PowerGlove for NES, which only worked in that Fred Savage movie about Super Mario 3.

Thanks!

If you think this looks ugly, you should've seen our very first version. Let's just say they don't teach tailoring in an engineering curriculum :P We actually outsourced this to a seamstress, who was able to fabricate the glove from ground up with conductive threads sewn in.

I think Nintendo was kind of ahead of its time when they released the PowerGlove. I definitely see the merit of a wearable interface today with better batteries and wireless communication technologies. I think Google agrees. The challenge will be how to make it as unobtrusive as possible.