Smart wearable gloves that track hand and wrist effort at work
Skin-interfaced triboelectric sensors continuously monitor worker forceexertions to prevent workplace injuries
A new low-cost smart glove uses sensitive sensors to measure hand and wrist force for people who do manual lifting and repetitive hand tasks.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Purdue University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (West Lafayette, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11178303 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If I do lifting or other manual jobs, researchers are building a thin, skin-like glove that continuously records how hard my hands, wrists, and forearms are working. The glove uses triboelectric sensors to generate signals and pairs those signals with deep-learning algorithms to estimate force and injury risk throughout the workday. The team plans to make the system low-cost and scalable so many workers can be monitored without videotaping or interrupting their tasks. The approach aims to capture real-world, continuous exposures that current snapshot or observer-based tools miss.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are adult workers who perform manual material handling, lifting, assembly, or other repetitive hand/wrist tasks and can wear a glove during shifts.
Not a fit: People whose pain arises from non-work causes, conditions not involving the hands or wrists, or jobs without manual hand loading are unlikely to benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help prevent hand, wrist, and forearm injuries by spotting risky force patterns early and guiding safer work practices.
How similar studies have performed: Related wearable-sensor and AI projects have shown promise in tracking posture and movement, but using triboelectric gloves specifically to estimate hand force is a newer, less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
West Lafayette, United States
- Purdue University — West Lafayette, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Yu, Denny — Purdue University
- Study coordinator: Yu, Denny
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.