손동작 인식 기반 발광형 안전 장갑- 설계·개발 및 기능성 평가 - = Gesture-Recognizing and Light-Emitting Safety Gloves- Design, Development, and Functional Evaluation -

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of this study is to design and develop gesture-recognizing and touch-based light-emitting safety gloves based on user requirements, and to evaluate the system's technical performance and usability through user assessment. Conventional protective gloves, relying on switch-based operation, inherently lack intuitiveness, which limits the potential for immediately securing safety in nighttime or occupational environments. To address this, a demand survey was conducted with 257 pedestrians and riders, revealing that approximately 45% felt insecure during nighttime activities and 71% reported low visibility. The study analyzed users’ basic and applied hand movement mechanisms, produced 14 preliminary designs for user preference evaluation, and finalized three designs, from which the prototypes were produced. Technical and design evaluations were conducted with 10 participants. Results indicated high technical performance, with system reliability scoring 4.3 and intuitive interface scoring 4.5, while design evaluations scored 4.0 for wearability, 4.1 for practicality, and 3.6 for originality. This research is significant in that it integrated user demand and gesture-based mechanisms into the design, and simultaneously verified functionality and usability through preliminary user evaluation. Specifically, the switch-free, touch-based operation mechanism and the intuitive design reflecting user experience offer a significant technical contribution by substantially enhancing wearability and system usability. This mechanism, compared to switch-based methods, suggests the potential to reduce the time required to secure safety in critical situations. Ultimately, the findings are evaluated as providing a practical wearable solution that supports accident prevention and visibility enhancement in nighttime activities and various occupational settings.