Increase the opportunity for people with disabilities to communicate through a sensor and the network

Mobile Lorm Glove, Design Research Lab

Visually and hearing impaired people use eiher finger Braille, a method of conversation through fingertip taps that simulate Braille letters, or tactile signing called” Lorm”, a method of drawing the letters of the words, one-by-one, on the palm. Two methods use both fingers and the palm, allowing visually and hearing impaired people to communicate only with people who understand Lorm or finger Braille. Therefore, it is difficult to meet many people and communicate with them in an easy and convenient way. To address this problem, “Design Research Lab” in Germany has developed a mobile Lorm glove made of fabric that senses finger pressure. The glove has a built-in vibration device, and connects to a smartphone or a computer via Bluetooth. If a person wearing the glove draws Lorm with his or her fingers, the glove automatically converts Lorm into digital text, and then sends it to a smartphone or a computer. If digital text is transmitted, the vibration device alerts a person wearing the glove by vibrating the position of letters.

Visually and hearing impaired people have to communicate through a direct meeting or sign language, meaning that they need to receive help from others for the rest of their lives to have communication or obtain information. This is why it is difficult to build human relationships or get information. “Mobile Lorm Glove” allows visually and hearing impaired people to communicate through tactile sensations and vibrations by connecting them to the network. The incorporation of “Tangibility[METATREND Vol.27]” makes it easy to have communication, allowing people with disabilities to meet more people and obtain a variety of information. This means that people with disabilities are given more opportunities to carry out activities independently.