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I didn't get to play with the Peregrine at E3 2009. I literally discovered their booth at the end of the show, as everyone was packing things up. I did hold one of the gloves briefly and a rep told me a little about it, however.
The Peregrine is a glove-based controller made by Iron Will Technologies. The glove system separates into two pieces: a rectangular plastic puck-like pod that cradles into a port on the back of the hand on the glove and stays in place with a magnetic connector that breaks away without damaging the glove, in case of something tugging on the USB cord, and a flexible, submersible, washable glove that resembles a high-tech golf glove or a futuristic driving glove.
The Peregrine gloves, themselves, are available in small, medium and large sizes, so they fit like, well, a glove. For additional comfort, they feature mesh in the areas that would otherwise tend to get hot.
As for how they work, they are touch-based. There are three "activator points" that can come in contact with up to 17 user adjustable "touch points" to indicate different commands, for a total of (calculated by Iron Will Technologies): 30 unique commands. Looking at the numbers, I would think that it should come out to more like (17 x 3) 51 different touch commands, but I assume that the 21 "lost" commands come from physically impossible (or nearly impossible) combinations, such as touching the side of one's little finger to the base of the palm. It might be possible, but not something you'd want to rely on to send a command to your PC with any speed... plus, you risk suffering a really hard-to-explain cramp in your hand.
Iron Will Technologies is also building in room for customization. The Peregrine will support different interchangeable pod faceplates, as well as customizable LED modes.
All of the Peregrine gloves I've seen have been left-handed models. I am wondering if they will also make right-handed models. Personally, I think it would be interesting to use a pair of these together to achieve a minimum of 60 unique commands, and, depending on software application, possibly a total of (31x31 -1) 960 unique commands. I'm looking forward to some hands-on, um, hands-in time with the Peregrine. |
