Tag Archives: gloves

These gloves help visually-impaired sports fans enjoy events even more

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Much of what we do presume almost complete access to our physical and mental faculties. Most of the products that we make and buy are designed for the majority, which mostly means physically-able people in good condition. It is far too easy to take for granted how there’s a growing number of people in our society with physical handicaps or disabilities that become disenfranchised because of these assumptions. Given our reliance on devices with screens as well as genetic defects, many people are developing visual impairments that leave them out of enjoying many things in life. That’s especially true for sports, where one really has to see to be able to enjoy the action. Fortunately, this pair of gloves sports fans with visual impairments a chance to feel part of the game once more, utilizing the wearer’s heightened sense of touch.

Designer: Jithin Raj Mambully Rajan

The human mind and body are truly remarkable in how they compensate for lost senses or limbs, and that can be seen most especially among visually-impaired people, particularly the blind. They may not have Daredevil-like super hearing, but their fingers almost become their second eyes. Those well-versed in Braille can sometimes even read faster than those who have perfect eyesight. Unfortunately, that ability is wasted in sports events where visually-impaired people have to rely on commentators or friends for descriptions of what’s happening, something that’s not trivial to do, especially with fast-paced matches.

SENS is a wearable concept that takes advantage of the key strengths of blind or visually-impaired people when it comes to mapping the sense of touch to something totally unrelated. In a nutshell, the gloves contain three vibration motors, each that make vibration patterns on the wearer’s palms, one of the most sensitive parts of the human hand. There is also a box with buttons on the back of the hand with Braille dots used for controlling the gloves.

The idea is for the gloves’ motors to generate a unique vibration pattern that could be mapped to a specific action during a sports event, which was tennis, for the purposes of testing SENS. A fault would have a different pattern from a net hit, and a score on one side would be different from the opponent’s. Memorizing which patterns correspond to which moments does have a learning curve, but it is one that visually-impaired people might already be familiar with, allowing them to easily acclimate to other sports.

This inclusive invention does require other systems to be in place, like a sort of broadcasting system that wearers can connect to in order to receive notifications of those events. It might be easy for games like tennis, where ball-tracking technologies are already in use, but other sports events will require some more work. It’s still a better, more efficient, and more fulfilling alternative compared to hearing about each and every moment from someone else’s point of view.

The post These gloves help visually-impaired sports fans enjoy events even more first appeared on Yanko Design.

These Realistic Owls Mittens Are a Real Hoot

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Owls: they’re the rulers of the forest night. Hooting and swooping down on their unsuspecting prey under the cover of darkness, eating rodents in their entirety. And now you can have a pair on your hands, thank to these knitted Owl Mittens (affiliate link). Thankfully, the owl mittens only feature the likenesses of owls but aren’t made from actual birds. That’s a relief, especially if you have owl relatives.

Available in five different mitten colors, each glove has a realistic snow owl on the back of the hand. Unfortunately, they’re only available in one standard women’s size, though, so I probably won’t be able to squeeze my big bear paws into them. Which is a shame because I love owls and warm hands.

I just bought a pair for my wife so I can live vicariously through her. Plus, with owl mittens, if you ever lose one, at least it’ll be easy to describe. IT HAS AN OWL ON IT. Looks real, but don’t be afraid though – it’s just a mitten.

[via DudeIWantThat]

Researchers Develop Octopus Sucker Glove for Grasping Objects Underwater

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Researchers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech (my alma mater!), led by Assistant Professor Michael Bartlett, have developed the Octa-Glove, a glove with octopus-like suckers on the fingers designed for firmly grasping objects underwater without requiring grip strength. That’s great news because my grip strength has always been lacking.


The glove features soft sucker-like membranes, which, when actuated, attach to objects much like an actual octopus’s tentacles without needing to apply any grip pressure. An array of micro-LIDAR optical proximity sensors detect just how far away an object is, and a microcontroller can activate or releases adhesion almost instantly. When reached for comment, Doctor Octopus says he wishes he’d thought of this.

The researchers envision the gloves being utilized in future underwater search and rescue missions, presumably rescuing mermaids from the evil grasp of Ursula. But will you be able to fight her organic suckers with robotic ones? Only time will tell, but I imagine Ariel is pretty worried about it.

[via TechEBlog]

Quanta Vici jackets and gloves let you choose how warm you want to be

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You no longer have to be stuck between hot and cold with this range of fashionable smart thermal clothing that lets you pick your preferred toasty temperature.

You might debate the actual causes, but it’s hard to argue that the weather has been pretty irregular and out of sync in the past years. Seasons extend beyond their normal dates, and temperatures can go to extremes. For those that have to deal with cold weather, be it by force or by recreational choice, the selection of clothing to keep them from freezing to death is wide but shallow. There isn’t much flexibility in how you are able to keep warm, and you’ll mostly have to either pile up more layers or take them off, depending on how you feel. We are living in a smart, tech-centric world, however, so there’s little reason why our winter clothes have to stay that way. Thankfully, someone did finally put two and two together to create a line of thermal clothing that isn’t just smart but also guilt-free.

Designer: Adrien Beyk of Quanta Vici

Click Here to Buy Now: $189 $410 (54% off). Hurry, less than 48 hours left!

Winter wear is mostly designed to trap your own body heat to keep you warm, and that’s pretty much it. If the cold becomes too much to bear, all you can do is wear more layers to the point that you become an immovable pin cushion. You can’t really go anywhere in between, much less opt for a slightly “chill” temperature if you’re the type that likes a tiny bit of cold. Heaters and thermostats can do that for rooms and cars, but not for clothing, at least until now.

Quanta Vici’s new thermal clothing lineup brings that freedom and flexibility to thermal jackets, vests, and gloves. You can actually select on your smartphone how warm you want to feel or how cold you want to be. Better yet, the built-in thermostat from the “Smart” range can automatically do that for you, detecting the temperature inside the clothing in order to maintain that perfect level that you chose.

Although these features may sound geeky, Quanta Vici’s apparel looks anything but. In fact, the jackets and especially the gloves look completely fashionable, something that wouldn’t look out of place on a catwalk. The gloves, in particular, make use of animal-free vegan-friendly leather, so you don’t have to feel guilty about wearing such a luxurious-looking accessory. It’s also friendly to your phone’s touch screen, so you don’t have to worry about freezing your finger off just to use your device.

Both the slim jacket and the vest, which come in different styles for guys and gals, are made from recycled polyester, continuing that theme of sustainability. Even the zippers are recycled, so you can enjoy the warmth that the smart jackets give while also feeling good about your positive impact on the environment. The clothing is washable, but you’ll have to remember to remove the battery first before you do.

The Quanta Vici smart thermal clothing line is exclusive to Kickstarter and starts at $149 for the “base” range, while the “smart” line with the built-in thermostat starts at $179. But with this one-time Kickstarter-exclusive flash sale, you can get any single Smart product, be it the jacket, vest, or glove, for only $159.

Elegant, effective, and environment-friendly, Quanta Vici’s smart heated slim jackets and leather gloves demonstrate the true meaning of wearables without going overboard on the tech.

Click Here to Buy Now: $189 $410 (54% off). Hurry, less than 48 hours left!

The post Quanta Vici jackets and gloves let you choose how warm you want to be first appeared on Yanko Design.

Thermostat-embedded clothes can regulate their temperature to make you feel warm in the winters

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We’ve got advanced heating systems in our homes and cars… now we’ve got them in our clothes. Meet the Quanta Vici, a collection of smart winter-wear that actually heats up to the exact temperature you choose!

Created by designers and engineers who’ve worked across companies like Ralph Lauren, BMW, and Adidas, Quanta Vici’s collection of smart heated clothes (which previously comprised gloves and socks) is now expanding to also include slim vests and jackets made from the company’s signature smart-fabric. The smart fabric used in the apparel is deceptively thin and breathable too, yet the smart yarn comes with the ability to warm up to a temperature of your choice, helping you stay toasty even when you’re out in the snow. To top it all off, Quanta Vici’s collection now also comes in vegan leather and recycled, vegan-friendly materials, making the apparel line both smart and 100% cruelty-free.

Designer: Adrien Beyk of Quanta Vici

Click Here to Buy Now: $189 $410 (54% off). Hurry, only 2/32 left!

Warm winter clothes are merely designed to capture and trap body heat… not generate heat. Quanta Vici’s smart thermal-wear, on the other hand, has the ability to warm you up to a toasty 130°F, with an app that lets you adjust the temperature to your liking. Much like a thermostat helps you adjust the temperature of your home or car’s interiors, Quanta Vici gives you the same feature right within your clothes. With a range spanning touchscreen-friendly gloves, a full-body jacket, and a sleeveless jacket/vest, Quanta Vici’s smart thermal clothes are app-controlled and give you the ability to not just regulate the temperature but also select specific zones to heat up. The clothes come with detachable battery packs that have a battery life of over two days, and fast-charge via USB-C.

This unique smart heating feature sets the Quanta Vici apart from regular winter-wear. While the traditional way of ‘warming up’ was to just wear more layers, Quanta Vici’s clothes let you just select a temperature of your choice from an app, and the clothes do the rest. Their gloves are made from vegan leather with touchscreen-friendly tips, and are designed with a slim, removable battery that fits right into the wrist, powering the smart-clothes. The company’s now even added jackets to the mix, in both sleeved and sleeveless options.

The sleeveless Smart Vest comes in masculine and feminine styles with an abundance of pockets, is designed to be entirely weather and waterproof, has a gold-insulated inner lining, and gives you the choice of heating the front and/or the back of your torso. The full-sleeve jacket also sports masculine and feminine styles, with a recycled polyester outer fabric. The jacket features 6 hidden travel-ready pockets, and has the same heat-zone selection ability as its sleeveless counterpart. Both the sleeveless and sleeved jackets are made from recycled polyester, and can be washed once you remove the battery pack.

A signature quality of Quanta Vici’s new range is its incorporation of sustainability into smart fashion. The jackets and gloves both now use vegan-friendly outer materials that look and feel luxurious, and are then followed by an inner down-comparable PrimaLoft fiber layer made from post-consumer recycled polyester plastic, designed to trap heat naturally. The material used in Quanta Vici’s zippers are recycled too, and the garments are all designed in a way that makes them easy to upcycle after their life is over.

Quanta Vici’s latest line, which is exclusively limited to Kickstarter for now, starts off at $149 with a base range, which features the app-based heating capabilities, but also includes a ‘smart’ range starting at $179, which includes a built-in thermostat that regulates the heating to maintain the temperature you set on the app. The smart-apparel lets you choose between 4 sizes and ships with a 1-year guarantee.

Click Here to Buy Now: $189 $410 (54% off). Hurry, only 2/32 left!

The post Thermostat-embedded clothes can regulate their temperature to make you feel warm in the winters first appeared on Yanko Design.

Giant Boxing Gloves Sectional Sofa Delivers a Knock Out toYour Wallet

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Are you a professional boxer? Or maybe you’re the world’s biggest boxing fan. If you’re one of the two, then this vintage Boxing Glove Sectional sofa may be for you. If you’re not, it probably isn’t. Produced by Swiss design house De Sede in 1978, the sofa is available through 1stDibs for the knock-out price of $31,500. I don’t know about you, but I’ve tapped out already.

Constructed with an all-leather exterior complete with glove tie accents, you can also separate the sofa into two individual lounge chairs in the event you can’t watch television with your roommate without arguing and eventually throwing punches. I know exactly what that’s like. We have to wear mouthguards just to get through an episode of The Book of Boba Fett.

So, for the price of a new car, you can be the proud owner of a boxing glove sectional sofa. Alternatively, you could spend a tiny fraction of that cost to pay me to knock some sense into you. Just FYI, if you want me to wear gloves, though, it will cost you extra.

[via DudeIWantThat]

Stretchable skin sensor could help you touch things in VR

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Virtual reality doesn’t quite match up to the “reality” label without tactile sensations, but that might not be an issue for too much longer. Cornell scientists have developed a new form of stretchable skin sensor that uses fiber optics to provide a...

Garden Gloves with Claws Make You Look Like a Monster

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Who knew that garden gloves with claws were a thing? I sure didn’t. It turns out that they are, and they’re meant to make it easier to work in the dirt when you don’t have a shovel handy.

These unusual garden gloves come with removable fingertip claws that make quick work of breaking up dirt while planting. They’re also great for scaring off nosy neighbors when they peer over your fence to see what you’re doing. Heck, you could probably use them for self-defense in a pinch. Or put a pair on your hands and stick some extra claws onto your FiveFingers shoes and walk around on all fours like a giant feral cat to really confuse people. Just don’t try and pick your nose while wearing them.

As an added bonus, when you’re not using them in the garden, you can use them as part of your low-budget Wolverine Halloween costume. You can find a whole bunch of these weird but useful gloves over on Amazon.