Mobile Lorm Glove: Talking to the Hand...and With It Too

When two people hold hands it usually means they are sharing a moment of affection.   If one of those people is a deaf and blind individual, then more often than not they are communicating by using the 'Lorm' hand-touch alphabet form of communication used by people with both hearing and sight impairment.  Although this is a wonderful way to communicate, the problem with this type of communication is that the discussion can only be done between two people who both have knowledge of the Lorm language and it can only be done by being in close proximity with each other, sharing tactile touch to talk.

What was once only available as a 'hands-on' experience, Lorm can now be used anywhere without being in physical contact with other people, enabling mobile communication over distance by text messaging, chat or email.  This is accomplished with a Mobile Lorm Glove, which is a hand-woven glove with textile pressure sensors located on the palm of the glove that allows the deafblind user to 'lorm' onto their own hand to compose and send text messages to a computer or handheld device. 

     

The way this works is when the glove wearer wants to communicate with someone, all they have to do is use the Lorm language on the glove which will transmit the message through a Bluetooth connection that will transmit the message, or data from the glove to the deafblind person's handheld device.  The device will then automatically forward the message to another person's computer or handheld device, such as a Smartphone, in the form of a Short Message Service (SMS) which the receiver can now read.  It also works in reverse by simply typing a message into a computer or handheld device, which will allow the deafblind glove wearer to receive Bluetooth messages on their handheld device, which is then automatically transferred to the glove.  The glove wearer will feel the tactile feedback patterns via small vibration motors located in the back of the glove, allowing the wearer to perceive incoming messages from anyone, anywhere.  Not only will it allow two distanced people to communicate with each other, the device also allows a parallel one-to-many communication to a number of people which is especially helpful for situations such as school or group discussions.  It will also soon be possible for the deafblind person to 'feel' an E-Book or Audiobook with this Mobile Lorm Glove.

The researchers at the Design Research Lab in Berlin who have developed the Mobile Lorm Glove are finding ways to let others who are basically cut off from non-personal communication to become one-with-the-world by reaching out with their gloved hand, communicating with people who never had the opportunity to 'talk' with the deafblind and vise-versa.  This can open up a whole new world for both the user, and the family and friends of a deaf blind person.  The power of this glove can open up an amazing world of communication for those who have too often experienced the sight and sounds of silence.