Introducing Glovdi; One Glove to Rule Them All

If Michael Jackson had lived to see it, he would definitely have worn Glovdi, bedazzled in sequins.

(Source: neverlandtoys.com/)

I just gave away my age.

Anyway, hopefully for all of us, we’ll live to see Glovdi on a few hands. This product is off-the-grid innovative, but…

Begun as a Master thesis project, now in development, Glovdi doesn’t exist yet; not outside of the prototype. If it’s creators have anything to do with things, Glovdi will change the wearables market for active people like nothing else.

I agree.

(Source: glovdi.com)

What is it?

It’s not a bracelet, not a watch, not a phone. It’s [surprise] a glove… sort of.

Actually, it’s all of those things but wrapped around your hand. The current design leaves your three middle fingers mostly open, covering your thumb and pinky completely.

There appear to be three rings that slide over the three middle fingers, for what reason, I don’t know. The thumb and pinky, presumably are covered so you can talk on the phone like when you tell someone to call you by holding your fist to your face.

“Call me!”

(Source: glovdi.com)

What will it do?

The plan is that it will do a lot. It will track the usual fitness suspects, heart rate, calories burned, miles covered. There’s no mention of steps, but it would be the only device that doesn’t.

It appears Glovdi will have GPS as well. The site boasts that the display will be significant enough to map your routes. This means easy trekking, running, mountain biking, and similar off-grid activities.

It will take pictures like a smartphone, but with a camera on the palm, photos will be like giving a high-five to your shot, where you can aim the shot from the display on the back of your hand.

This could prove handy for unfamiliar routes, where you want to track points like a breadcrumb trail or simply document the journey.

Side note: I can see the Halloween costume hack now… the camera and display will be integrated in real time as if one could see through a hole in your hand.

(Source: glovdi.com)

How will it do all this?

The Glovdi team is creating an open source platform, so anyone will be able to develop apps that take advantage of every aspect of the glove.

By contrast, platforms like Apple’s IOS have limited accessibility for app developers. There are aspects of the IOS platform where they don’t want devs messing around.

If Glovdi is smart, they will make it Android-based, but they could try to build a ground up OS.

(Source: glovdi.com)

Who is it for?

If not Michael Jackson, right??

The Glovdi team seems to think anyone who uses a smartphone, fitness tracker or digital camera will find this device handy. In other words, they want you to purchase it.

Their site specifically identifies certain groups as prime candidates; cyclists, runners, adventurists, car enthusiasts… and social butterflies?

I don’t know about that last one. There is a real effort going in wearables to make them invisible, burying them in clothes, jewelry, and even mirrors. A glove might have issues matching outfits for social events unless there talking about someone who stays at home taking selfies in his bedroom to post on social media.

As someone who lives in a warm climate, I would have reservations about putting something on my hands all day long. I would be constantly taking it off.

That said, this would be the perfect compliment to any exercise. Presumably, the device will offer Bluetooth MP3 playback. With a pair of wireless headphones, I could go far with this.

(Source: griffintechnology.com)

My iPhone is too bulky, even strapped to my arm. My Apple Watch is too tiny and doesn’t have GPS. My MP3 player doesn’t do anything else. My fitness tracker just can’t keep up.

The Glovdi idea may just be the best fitness tracker, er smart glove in development right now. Surprisingly, they don’t seem to be crowdsourcing this project, but they are accepting investors and partners.

That’s what we used to call crowdsourcing back before the internets.

Either way, I’m ordering mine with a Bedazzling Gun.

Before you go, here’s a product video: