New Glove from U of M Researchers Can 'See' | News

A team of design researchers at the University of Minnesota is working on a glove that could one day revolutionize how firefighters and other first responders do their jobs, by letting them see and feel a room without actually looking at it or touching it.

The gloves work by a sonar sensor making the gloves vibrate stronger when it detects an object is closer. They're still in the early prototype stages, but researchers see, or should we say, feel lots of promise.

"We've gotten some good results, so the feedback is it's working, and then it's a question of refining the prototype and developing it for the specific firefighting application," said Lucy Dunne, an assistant professor who is leading the project.

They've recently started meeting with firefighters. The project has at least another two years to go.