Touchable: Adapting a Haptic Feedback Glove for Use in Rehabilitation Contexts

With the increasing miniaturisation of computing and sensor technology, it is becoming common for electronics of all kinds to be integrated into clothing and other wearable items. Motion sensing technologies in particular have been used for a variety of consumer fitness and virtual reality applications for able-bodied people. This research explores the potential for affordable motion capture and haptic feedback technologies to be utilised in a rehabilitation context, with a specific focus on the hand. An iterative development process was used to adapt and improve an existing prototype haptic feedback glove in response to the unique challenges facing wearable device users in a rehabilitation context. Collaboration with physiotherapists provided valuable feedback throughout the design process. The result is a significantly different prototype device with major design improvements, and insights into how iterative development processes can be utilised for hardware development