The not-so-loved 1989 Nintendo Power Glove is back unlike anyone has ever seen before thanks to a crafty computer engineer, as it has been configured to become a bona fide drone controller.
Take a second to imagine just how awesome it is to fly a quadcopter with various hand gestures.
Now, the person behind this clever piece of machinery is Nolan Moore, giving the Nintendo-branded controller accessory new life and a place in the modern world. However, the customized Power Glove is no longer anything like its former self except for its appearance and buttons, as its guts have been taken out and replaced with components that make the magic happen.
Going over the nitty-gritty details, an IMU or inertial measurement unit is placed inside the enclosure of the Power Glove and flex sensors are fitted in the fingers. They are tasked with delivering movement output to a logic chip that's responsible for translating it into data that the drone can understand. A Wi-Fi transmitter then sends it to the quadcopter to make it move accordingly.
"The control scheme is pretty sweet, hold your hand flat (palm toward the ground) to hover, make a fist and tilt it in any direction to affect pitch and roll, point a finger up or down to affect altitude, and point straight and twist your hand for yaw control. We were talking with Nolan about these controls it sounded sketchy, but the demo proves it's quite responsive," Mike Szczys, Hackaday managing editor, says.
Moore showed off his brainchild at the 2016 Maker Faire in the Bay Area, where he was within a netted cage when he demonstrated it.
Needless to say, the hacked Power Glove is nothing less than incredible because who wouldn't like to control a quadcopter using hand gestures like a Jedi using the Force?
What's more, it's even going to get a whole deal better too, as Moore has a couple of improvements in mind.
"Down the line, I hope to have the Glove feature [an] interchangeable wireless interface system. The Wi-Fi module will be able to be replaced with a Bluetooth module, RC transmitter, IR transmitter or other custom RF or USB HID dongle," he says.
At any rate, even though the controller is a commercial mess of a failure, it looks like it still has many uses, just like when a Robot Chicken animator redesigned his own Power Glove for work purposes back in 2015.
Hit up the video below to see the Nintendo Power Glove and the drone in action.
Don't forget to drop by our comments section and let us know what you think of this nifty creation too.
