How many of us have wished upon a star to be able to control electrical appliances at the snap of our fingers? I am sure we love to be able to take the “point and click” concept to the next level by “point and activate”. This could be the activation method of the future that will replace the all-powerful universal remote control - an electronic glove that is capable of manipulating your home appliances at the snap of your fingers. Researchers at Engineered Fibre Structures (EFS) have worked long and hard to bring us a working prototype of this soft-fabric electronic glove that remotely controls equipment thanks to Bluetooth connectivity.

Made from standard acrylic or stretch-nylon base yarn, this glove can be produced on a conventional industrial knitting machine. It wears and feels like a normal glove with one highly advanced caveat - it has conductive pathways knitted onto the material itself. These fingers are tipped with contactors, enabling you to create an electric circuit and pang when you put your thumb together with any other finger. This electric circuit will then activate any appliance that was designed to comply with such signals.

You can now navigate through your documents ala Minority Report, bringing interaction to the new level. Just when you think the Nintendo Wii’s unique control scheme was new, something had to come out that could possibly be a replacement in the near future. Other practical uses would be a communications device for industrial, security, and military applications. The research team is now working on miniaturizing the electronics in the Bluetooth before a fully-fledged commercial version can be released.

Source: Talk2myShirt