Waterproof electronic glove design

Researchers have designed waterproof gloves equipped with sensors that can convert hand gestures into messages, helping divers communicate better with 99.8% accuracy.

Electronic gloves are not a new concept and are being developed - for example, to help people who have had a stroke regain their normal motor skills. However, until now designing an electronic glove that is both waterproof and comfortable to wear has remained a challenge.

In tests, the new electronic glove design can translate 16 hand gestures into words with 99.8% accuracy - (Photo: Liu et al. (2024), ACS Nano).

To create an electronic glove that responds to hand movements, the researchers individually wrapped 10 sensors in self-adhesive tape and sewed them to the prototype's first knuckles and knuckles.

With the help of a participant wearing an electronic glove, and aided by artificial intelligence (AI), the research team then trained a machine learning algorithm to recognize the corresponding electrical signals. 16 hand gestures commonly used by divers underwater, including the index finger to thumb gesture to signal "OK".

When the person wearing these gloves operates underwater, making hand signals will create electrical pulses. These pulses are then transmitted to a computer capable of translating them into words with 99.8% accuracy. This could allow more effective communication between divers and those on the surface.

"Currently basic diver-to-diver hand signals work well in conditions of good enough visibility but become more difficult at night or in poor conditions and clearly do not provide the means communicates well with the water surface ," Keiron Fraser, associate professor of marine conservation and head of the scientific diving program at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom, told Live Science via email.

Fraser was not involved in the design of the glove. He said the design could be especially useful for activities that require contact between the diver and the surface.

During exploration, Fraser and his colleagues use voice communication systems that are wired or transmitted through water, but "the sets are bulky and expensive ," he said.

Waterproof electronic gloves could provide separate communication channels during sensitive operations - and while the military has technology to transmit typed messages underwater, "gloved systems could quickly than typing ," Fraser said.