A smart glove for underwater robot teleoperation

80% of our planet, which is covered in water, is largely unexplored and a challenge in which to work. We want to make it easier for humans to access and work in the underwater world, and one way to do this is to buddy up a diver with a robot. Now imagine that the robot has an arm that acts like an extension of the diver's own arm. Such a robot, properly controlled by the diver, could access remote spaces, handle wildlife and just get useful work done. Robotic arms and grippers are typically operated by a joystick, a touch screen interface, or various buttons. These are hard to operate underwater. Hand gesture/motion capture through an instrumented glove offers a more useful and intuitive alternative to the joystick/touchscreen for the diver. We need a student to join our team and help us build a diving glove that will turn gestures and finger movements into commands and robotic actions that will augment the diver and extend human capabilities in the ocean. The glove will be based on sensor technologies that we have developed in-house.

If you are interested in furthering human exploration of our watery planet through the human/robot team then please get in touch with us.

We seek a candidate with a background in mechatronics or electronics engineering. Useful skills would include CAD modelling, PCB design, and some robotics experience.

Page expires: 12 April 2026