British-based startup Mi.Mu has unveiled the second generation version of its sensor-packed gloves that are all about making it easier to create music. They're also designed to keep musicians away from their keyboards and controllers on stage to create more visual live performances.
We first heard about the Mi.Mu Glove way back in 2014 where it popped up on Kickstarter trying to raise $200,000 to bring the wearable tech project to life. Unfortunately, it didn't make that goal, but since then it still managed to build the first version and now it's ready to make it easier for people to try it out with the new gloves.
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The new Mi.Mu are made from recycled fabrics and work using a series of sensors that are able to measure the bend of the fingers and measure hand and arm motion. The gloves also include LED and vibration motors to enable visual and haptic feedback.
The onboard Wi-Fi connectivity can communicate with music software including Logic Pro and Mi.Mu's own Glover software to assign sounds and instruments to different postures and movements like using your fist to bang a drum or opening your hand and pointing fingers to manipulate sound.
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The open fingertip design means they are made to be played with instruments and the promise of six hour battery life (up from two hours on the first gloves) with the ability to swap out batteries mean they should be well suited to being used during shows too.
The gloves have already been in the hands of artists to use in the studio and on stage including founder Imogen Heap and Ariana Grande. Now with the second generation gloves, Mi.Mu wants to make the tech more accessible, but it's not cheap to slip those fingerless gloves on. A single glove will set you back £1,250 while a pair is priced in at £2,500. You can pre-order them now from the Mi.Mu website with shipping expected in August this year.
At that price, they are by no means an impulse purchase. But we've seen them in action (video above) and they are clearly very impressive. If you're a musician looking at something to change the way you think about music creation or to add a new dimension to your live performances, Mi.Mu has clearly come up with something very impressive here.
How we test
By Michael Sawh
Michael Sawh has been covering the wearable tech industry since the very first Fitbit landed back in 2011. Previously the resident wearable tech expert at Trusted Reviews, he also marshaled the features section of T3.com.
He also regularly contributed to T3 magazine when they needed someone to talk about fitness trackers, running watches, headphones, tablets, and phones.
Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech.
Michael is a lover of all things sports and fitness-tech related, clocking up over 15 marathons and has put in serious hours in the pool all in the name of testing every fitness wearable going. Expect to see him with a minimum of two wearables at any given time.