Wearable operation device with different types of dielectric elastomer sensors

A novel glove with dielectric elastomer sensors is introduced which serves as a wearable operation device for the control of a multitude of technical functions. The glove carries three types of capacitive sensors which are attached to various fingers. Two strain sensor films on the backside of the index finger and middle finger can monitor the bending of the fingers which causes a stretch of the sensor films. Proximity sensors consisting of two components which are distributed on different fingers are capable to detect the mutual approach and the contact of the fingers. Finally, with a dielectric elastomer pressure sensor on the thumb, the force which is exerted by pressing another finger on the thumb can be continuously measured. Using combinations of these different sensors, even complex control operations may be performed with the glove. The pressure and strain sensors are exploited to tune a technical function such as light intensity, sound loudness or temperature to an intended value. With the contact sensors, the tuned value can be fixed. Some test scenarios to evaluate the performance of the different types of dielectric elastomer sensors on the glove were carried out. In two operation scenarios, the possible exploitation of the glove for the tuning of technical functions is outlined.