Making 'Glove One' - a 3D-printed, wearable cell phone.

Hello!  I'm Bryan Cera, and I love to make weird stuff out of electronics! It is my passion. For this instructable, I'd like to take you through my process of creating Glove One, a functional cell phone that you wear on your hand. I've made a few tutorials in the past, but this is my first official instructable.  I see it as my first attempt at giving something back to the online communities of makers I've been learning from.

Any of the processes involved in this instructable can easily be applied to any project in the realm of hacked electronics, DIY hardware, or digital fabrication. That said, I hope you enjoy: Making Glove One.

Step 1: Preparation

There are two different ways one could attack this project.  You could start from scratch, like I did, or you could work from the cad files I've made freely available here.  I created a parametric design for the finger segments, so they are pretty easy to modify to fit different hands - see the 'Drawing the virtual model' step for more info on that.

If you choose to start from scratch, I'd imagine the entire build would take about two months (not including delivery times for components or outsourced parts).  That's of course assuming you already have a bit of experience with a CAD program and know your way around a soldering iron.

If you start from my cad drawings, you could easily bang out your own Glove One in less than a month.

That said, I will start this tutorial by laying out all of the materials and tools I used for the build, and provide links where I can.


Materials used for the project:

- masking tape
- electrical tape
- shrink tubing
- surface-mount tactile switches (KSR251G)
- custom 3D print from Ponoko (see 'Step 6: Digital Fabrication')
- sheet metal components cut by Ponoko (if you don't cut your own)
- micro nuts and bolts (from microfasteners.com)
- extension springs    (from Small Parts on Amazon)
- a used or new cell phone (I used Burg Watch Phone "Midnight Black")
- zap-a-gap epoxy (on Amazon)
- plastic-bond spray paint (I used 'Fusion for Plastic' by Krylon)
- plasti-dip (from Plasti-Dip on Amazon)
- 3in x 3in x .06in PETG Sheet Plastic (I used scraps, but can find on Amazon or Midland Plastics)
- 3in x 3in x .06in Acrylic Sheet Plastic (I used an old scrap, but can find on Amazon or Midland Plastics)
- .5in x .5in copper foil OR copper foil tape (on Amazon)


Tools Required for the project:

- digital camera OR scanner
- soldering iron
- tweezers
- small screwdriver
- exacto knife
- 600, 600, and 1200 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper
- heat gun


Other useful (but not required) materials/tools for the project:

- card stock or manilla folders
- several short wooden dowels
- reusable poster adhesive
- de-soldering wick
- all-purpose cleaning agent
- metal files and/or sanding sticks
- dremel tool
- vinyl plotter (I bought a Vinyl Express for only $250 and it has come in handy for tons of projects!)
- 8in x 10in x .02in sheet aluminum (if you plan to cut your own metal components - from Small Parts on Amazon)
- CnC mill (if you plan to cut your own metal components - I used a friend's Taig Desktop CnC Mill)

Before we get started, I'd just like to mention that as this project involves chemicals and potentially dangerous tools, it is important to take appropriate safety measures (i.e. rubber gloves, respirators, safety glasses.) I'm safe. I'm set.

Comments

[Bryan Cera]

I've gotten several requests for more information on how much it would cost to build one's own Glove One. I decided to address this on my blog... check out the post here:

http://sites.google.com/site/bryanceraonline/blog-2/gloveoneprice

I'd love to see pictures of people's Glove One builds.  Send em my way, and if it's okay with you, I'll feature them on my website!

Happy making!

[babu1423]

can other people call us ?

[Bryan Cera]

Yeah, it's a fully functioning phone.

[babu1423]

thanks awsome
can we also use a dremel to smothen the glove

[babu1423]

thanks awsome
can we also use a dremel to smothen the glove

[Bryan Cera]

I doubt a dremel would be necessary... nothing needs any extreme modification.

Several sheets of fine-grit sandpaper should do the trick. Sanding sticks can help get into the hard-to-reach areas of the printed components:

http://www.amazon.com/Sanding-Stick-Sticks-Finishing-Kit/dp/B0039ZCQAK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340467750&sr=8-1&keywords=sanding+sticks

[chase32615]

wouldn't you need a locking mechanism for the number buttons. say if you were to pick something up you wouldn't want to "hand dial."

[momijilover]

im in love with you right now

[opticor]

Don't get me wrong, this is a fantastic design and very cool...especially for people who are into that kind of design.

however, don't you think that as an everyday person usage item...it's kinda going backwards?...

we have micro-technology resulting in Blutooth and it's lightweight, and user friendly. I mean, i believe it would be kind of uncomfortable to walk around with your hand stuck to your head like that.

although it would possibly cut down on driving while talking/texting.

[Bryan Cera]

Opticor,

Thanks for the feedback. I highly suggest watching the intro video for this project, to get a better understanding of my motivation behind this project and why I designed it the way I did.

You might also take a look at the project page on my website, here:
https://sites.google.com/site/bryanceraonline/project01/gloveone

Lastly, I highly encourage you to attempt your own build, and share it here on instructables! Don't stop at telling us how you'd improve the design, show us! :)

Bryan

[MoustacheCat]

How much did the watch cost?

[Bryan Cera]

A more detailed bill of materials (with prices) can be found on my blog, here:

https://sites.google.com/site/bryanceraonline/blog-2/gloveoneprice

[MoustacheCat]

Thank you

[jparamasivam]

an awesome touch of a genius

[or_ford98]

Can you make a printable template of a cardboard glove one? thanks

[Xillra]

If mean pepakura, just take the cad file and throw it at the Pepakura Designer - which will do that for you.

[or_ford98]

erh, theres a problem. It doesnt support .SLDPRT files.. and i cant convert it :(

[or_ford98]

Oh!! Thats AWESOME!!!! Thanks for sharing that, i had no idea of how to do that

:DDDD

[Nyxius]

When you were jumping Mario and then started flying, I lost it....

Funny as Hell man! +1 for you.

[TechKid67]

Must be what Tony Stark feels, following you from now on :D Nice work

[murphypop]

Have you considered adding a button that disables all other buttons temporarily? That way, you could use the hand for other things without worrying about the next generation of butt-dialing.

[dwoythal]

Some sort of a button like an iPod's hold switch would be an awesome edition.

[The nerdling]

yeah like a switch connected to the ground of all the buttons

[babu1423]

what is the radius of the burg watch phone ? i'm still designing the glove to make it my self with a few modifications so i need the radius

[justwilliambrown]

what do u mean by that? do u mean the loudspeaker radius, or the mobile signal radius?

[babu1423]

the circuit board of the burg phone

[or_ford98]

do you have a template for the carboard one? :)
I love it, its just that i dont have a 3d printer, etc

[a480641]

I want one of these! but, Have you heard of the "SixthSense technology? its free opensource and you make it yourself. can do this without the glove.
http://www.pranavmistry.com/projects/sixthsense/

[carbon13]

Well done. Great idea.

[spongebop125]

About how muck would all of this cost? I'm only 11 and this would take up my allowance fo the rest of my life.

[Kokkan]

Did you go to any college? I'm thinking about eletric engineer, I wanna learn stuff like that, eletronic circuits, etc

peace

[Bryan Cera]

I got my bachelors in interdisciplinary arts, with a focus on audio/video production. I took a few classes in programming and electronics, and fell in love with it. I'm now in grad school at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, studying art and technology - though that entales a lot more reading and writing than actual making :P

There are lots of programs out there now, that sit between art and engineering. That's not to say that you can't get into this stuff on your own... I use the internet as my how-to guide for pretty much everything!

[Kokkan]

thanks :)

[nrischitelli]

Will you be selling these in the near future? I'm sur you could make a decent amount from selling them.

[Bryan Cera]

I appreciate all of these clever suggestions on improving this design. I'd absolutely LOVE to see someone add some of these to their own build.

Here's another idea for an upgrade... exchange phone numbers by bumping fists with another phone glove user. :D

[tsaral]

This is cool. I went to amazon.com to look at the watch, and the aluminum sheets and calipers show up under 'Customers Who Bought this Item Also Bought'. The made me smile

[Bryan Cera]

Ha! I wonder if that means people are making this thing... :D

[M P L]

totally cryogenic & non-linear...you're quite the artist, as well. love the hand sketches. Great work!

[bdeb-1]

Dude, i read the above comments, and they have a point! Its not really market ready without a screen. And also about the accidental button press thing. And now my two cents.
A> The physical keys could be replaced by some sort of soft rubber keys, and or capacitive keys. It could have a simple hardware lock/unlock button or a gesture unlock option.
B> A flexible screen could easily be placed in the palm. Be it a monochromatic e-ink display or even a color one. (look into the new nokia phone which uses the way the user bends the screen to navigate. This could solve the keypad lock/unlock issue as well.)
C> If the fingers joints were to be changed to be more flexible, then typing out text messages or phone numbers could be taken care of with one hand. Our thumb actually reaches all the major key placements you made.
And lastly, you should start a kickstarter! This would greatly help you gather the funds to make this into something i could wear and use next year! :D Kudos on making something this awesome, and i hope you can get it out in the market soon!

[yonch]

Sooooooooooooooo coooool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I won't be using it if I had one, but still, good job!