Tired of not being able to pick up an overstuffed shopping bag? Want to change a tire without jacking up your car? Or maybe you just want to look cool at the gym without all that tedious weight training?
That's the promise behind a new kind of glove that NASA and General Motors are working on. The Human Grasp Assist device, known to both organizations as the K-glove or Robo-Glove, may be aimed at auto workers and astronauts. In theory, however, it could help all of us grip heavy tools with ease — and as a bonus, make us less at risk for Repetitive Stress Injury.
"The Robo-Glove has the potential to reduce the amount of force that an auto worker would need to exert when operating a tool for an extended time or with repetitive motions," Dana Komin, GM's manufacturing engineering director, said in a press release.
Here's how it works. The glove is covered in pressure sensors which can tell when you're picking up a tool. Grasp it, and the glove's "tendons" retract — holding the tool in position until you're ready to release it. The amount of force required to hold an object using the glove is reduced by about ten pounds.
Of course, the glove also adds a bit of weight — about two pounds. That's not counting the battery pack, which you'll need to wear as a belt. There's no launch date for the glove, and nobody's talking about a commercial release yet. "Our goal is to bring this technology to the shop floor in the near future," said Komin.
Still, it wouldn't be the first technology to leave the confines of behemoths like GM and NASA and burst onto the consumer scene. How would you use this glove in your life? Let us know in the comments.