Mouse Glove//Jakob Schlottman//Wearables Project #2
For my final project I wanted to look at how we interface with technology, how we can remove layers of interface, and what the overall effect of removing those layers is.
Initially I bought a $10 Logitech mouse with the intention of hacking it apart, figuring out how it worked, and melding that with the glove in a similar manner as the final product represents. I did not know how LED mice worked, and unfortunately there was no way for me to manually trigger the impulse for U/D/L/R/LC/RC on the mouse board itself, it was all handled on the computer chip and sent wirelessly to the USB dongle. Tough luck, but I had some other ideas.
After doing some research I discovered a program called NeatMouse, a mouse movement emulator where directions and clicks can be bound to key presses instead of an actual mouse. So I went out and bought a $25 wireless keyboard and hacked it apart. I had to map 7 different pins, one of which (the thumb pin) had to be the mother pin for the other 6.
With that finished came the biggest roadblock -- turns out that board had some sort of anti-solder glaze, and not wanting to burn out the board or render the pins useless, I had to try some other methods of making a connection. Copper tape proved not to be conductive enough, and wires were too heavy to stay on the board with just electrical tape holding them down. Ultimately, the solution was to take strands of conductive thread and try to tape them onto exactly the right pin without touching other pins or each other. As soon as I had it working once I wrapped the thread around the board once and taped it down so that any tugs wouldn’t be applied directly where the threads were touching the pins.
After I stitched conductive thread pads into each finger and on the side of the pointer and middle fingers down to the back of the hand and attached the board, I had a working, wireless mouse glove that I have been terrified to touch since I finished it.
As it stands, touching your thumb to each of other four finger tips and the side of the index and middle finger controls one of the six mouse actions -- Up, Down, Left, Right, Left Click, and Right Click. These can be rebound, and the speed at which the pointer moves can also be changed through NeatMouse.
Overall this was a super fun project, despite the roadblocks and pivots. Hopefully it works tomorrow!