Passive RFID-based Intelligent Gloves for Alternative and Assistive Communication - A Preliminary Study

Abstract

We introduce intelligent gloves based on passive ultrahigh frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which comprises of four antenna parts and three RFID integrated circuits (ICs). Each of the ICs (in middle finger, ring finger and small finger) have their unique IDs, which can be activated by gentle touch of thumb, and used to send a specific message, which is displayed on a computer screen. Two users tested the gloves in an office environment with M6 mercury RFID reader and a specially developed software. The achieved success rate in these preliminary tests was 100 %. We consider these results promising first steps for future wearable passive RFID-based augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) solutions.