Wearable device for multiple finger tracking

In the last years, different user interfaces have been realized, which permit to achieve a more natural human-machine interaction. For instance, some novel methods allow capturing the motion of several body parts, such as hands, head or eyes, to commands a computer. On its side, this activity aims at developing a device able to both track fingers position and measure the flexion of finger proximal phalanx. Such device could be useful as a computer interface, but also for biomedical applications. Two main parts compose the device. The first one is a wearable measurement unit, which is mounted directly on the finger through a multiple-ring support. The second one is a computer program. Measurement unit recognizes finger movements through either inertial or stretch sensors and transmits the data wirelessly to the computer program thanks to a Bluetooth Low Energy module. The program presents the data in real time and stores them. The wearable measurement unit is modular, since it can be replicated for any finger. In this way, complex gestures can be recognized or a discrimination can be achieved between different grabbed objects. The employment of stretch sensors fabricated through aerosol jet printing on stretchable substrates is being investigated as well. The activity is part of one of the 2015 PRIN (Progetti di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale) projects, which are co-financed by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research. It is carried out in collaboration with the University of Perugia and the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio.

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For more info, please contact Paolo Bellitti or Mauro Serpelloni, or visit the official project website.

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