Embri-Tap
Embri-Tap is a groundbreaking wearable device designed to redefine the way users interact with software, enhancing work efficiency by blending modern technology with traditional craftsmanship. This glove features sophisticated electronic embroidery, integrating conductive threads into the fabric to create a series of tactile interface buttons. Each button is directly mapped to a software shortcut, allowing users to control software in an unprecedented, efficient, and intuitive manner.
Embri-Tap
Conductive thread, Normal thread,
Fabric, Flora
2024
Core Features:
- Electronic Embroidery: Utilizes conductive thread embroidery to create functional buttons on the glove.
- Wearable Technology: Explores the application of wearable devices in everyday life and work.
- Tactile Experience: Provides intuitive tactile feedback through its embroidered design.
- Shortcut Applications: Simplifies complex operations, enhancing work efficiency.
Technical Challenges & Experiments
- Feasibility Experiments: The functionality of electronic embroidery as buttons, including both digital and analog outputs, is rigorously tested. This involves assessing the responsiveness and durability of embroidered conductive threads under various conditions.
- Technical Challenges: Addressing the exposure of conductive threads and preventing short circuits. This necessitates innovative design solutions to integrate the conductive material seamlessly into the glove, ensuring both safety and functionality.
Insulation treatment
Application Case: Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts
Inspiration
The release of Figma's shortcut keyboard hardware product sparked the idea of creating a wearable device for Adobe Illustrator shortcuts. As an avid user and enthusiast of shortcuts, and recognizing that many users struggle to remember shortcuts due to the multitude of software platforms, this project aims to simplify this process. The glove allows triggering a shortcut by pressing a single button instead of multiple keys on a keyboard.
Scenario
The goal is to facilitate quick access to frequently used Adobe Illustrator shortcuts through the glove.
Design Philosophy
The glove is designed for one-hand usage, allowing the other hand to operate a mouse. This ergonomic approach ensures that users can work efficiently without having to move away from their workstations.
Button Layout
Taking into account the natural resting position of the hand (where the thumb often rests beside the index finger), buttons are strategically placed on the sides of the middle, ring, and little fingers. This layout is designed for ease of access and to minimize hand strain, allowing users to activate shortcuts effortlessly.
Sketch
Fabrication Process
Buttons are placed on the opposite side of the fingers, connected to a microcontroller on the back of the hand with conductive thread circuits.
Each button is insulated with a layer of fabric sewn inside the glove. Regular thread is used to wrap the circuit and acts as insulation by sewing.
Sewing the normal thread around the conductive parts to augmented the sense of tactile as a guidance for users.
Inside the glove, the Flora and all buttons have been sewn with an isolation layer.
Demo
Challenges & Explorations
- Durability and Functionality of Electronic Embroidery:
The complexity of the finger-separated glove structure necessitates the effective integration of conductive threads into the glove, ensuring they withstand regular wear and tear while maintaining optimal tactile feedback and responsiveness. - Stability and Safety of the Circuitry:
Design challenges include strategies to prevent short-circuiting and to ensure the stability of the circuits under prolonged use and potential bending and stretching. - User Interface and Interaction Design:
The goal is to develop an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, taking into account the varying hand shapes and habits of different users, which may require multiple iterations and testing of the glove's design.
User Testing Insights
- Hand Mobility in Seniors:
User testing feedback indicates that the glove positively impacts hand mobility in elderly individuals. Hand movement is crucial for seniors, aiding in maintaining dexterity and coordination. - Memory Training:
Learning the layout of buttons and their corresponding commands serves as a cognitive exercise, potentially enhancing memory and cognitive functions.
More Possibilities
- Broader User Base:
While initially designed for Adobe Illustrator users, the potential applications of this device can extend to a wider audience, especially seniors. - Dual-Handed Wearable Gaming Device:
Develop a wearable gaming device for both hands, designed for seniors to improve hand mobility and memory through fun and training.
Conclusion
Embri-Tap is not just a technological exploration; it is an investigation into the potential of wearable devices to enhance health and improve quality of life. By researching novel interaction methods, it could bring tangible benefits to specific groups, such as the elderly, and pave the way for future interface design and wearable technology advancements.
