High-tech glove turns hand gestures into music

The glove can be used to create personalised sounds

A U.S.-based startup has created a high-tech glove that can turn hand gestures into music.

The glove, called the Remidi T8 wearable instrument, is equipped with pressure-sensitive sensors along its fingertips and palm.

Its wristband controls the combination of sounds from each sensor that are then translated as the user moves the hand.

The glove aims to be a very intuitive device for music artists, enthusiasts and disc jockeys to use, the company said.

Users of the glove will be able to compose music, play and perform on the go, said Mark DeMay, co-founder and chief technology officer at the Texas-based company Remidi.

The glove is more adaptable than large synthesiser machines and can be personalised to create new, custom sounds or remix existing ones, depending on how a user programmes it.

“We wanted to give people a fun way to express themselves and start pushing the boundaries of what we can do with musical instruments,” the co-founder told ‘Live Science.’

With the T8, a user could start jamming on any surface -a desk, wall, subway seat, park bench, car window, or on their own body. The data from the glove can then be sent to the Remidi app or to other recording software, he said.

The wristband hosts the control centre, while the glove hosts 8 pressure sensitive spots to trigger notes. They plug to each other through the magnetic connector on the back of the hand.

The T8 creates different sound intensities and rhythms based on which of its eight sensors are pressed, what combinations are pressed and how long or how hard you press down on each point.

A tiny spinning gyroscope and accelerometer in the glove’s wristband measures how fast your hand moves around and adjusts the tone and tempo of the music you create in real time.