The next Power Glove?

Have you ever made a mistake that you later regret? It's okay, we all have. There are little boo boos that can be patched up with band-aids, and then there are catastrophic errors in judgment.

Sega had plenty of cringeworthy moments (remember the Sega Saturn?) and that time when Phillips decided their Nintendo-supported CD-I should focus on education rather than gaming. Even Nintendo itself screwed up a few times -- think about Virtual Boy, R.O.B., Lazer Scope and U-force, and the Power Pad...all meh.

Then there was the Power Glove...

Mattel's Power Glove was by far the most famous. The futuristic looking device slid over a player's hand, and after inputting numeric codes specific to select games, let them perform actions in classic NES titles by moving their fingers and arms. Like so many gaming gadgets released in the 80s and 90s, the Power Glove was ahead of its time. But it's failed designs like these that inspired a slew of successful motion controlled devices, all made possible by advancing technology.

With history always destined to repeat itself, we now introduce you to Thalmic Labs' Myo Armband.

Using proprietary EMG sensors, the Myo armband measures the electrical activity from your muscles to detect what gesture your hand is making. It also senses all of the motions and rotations of your hand and forearm through the 9-axis IMU. Key features include a Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy connection, proprietary muscle activity (EMG) sensors, an ARM processor, a 9-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU), a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery, micro-USB charging, and haptic feedback.

In other words, fancy, and very similar to that Power Glove we remember so fondly!

Chris Buffa from Prima Games delves into the endless practical uses of the Myo Band and the potentially incredible gaming experiences it could bring in his feature article here.