gripit: smart wearable glove enhances biophysical abilities for parkour athletes

‘gripit’ designed by lior edri is a smart wearable glove that aims to enhance the biophysical abilities of the human body. tailor-made to fit an individual’s palm, the project takes shape as an add-on for parkour athletes intended to strengthen the user’s grip and sense of security. the supplement comes in bold neon colors as a fashionable accessory that corresponds with street style, graffiti, and urban sports.all images courtesy of lior edri

the designer explored the limits of ‏evolution’s capacity, and people’s ability to create new physical realities blending technology, speculative and futuristic design.‏ lior edri integrated EAP (electroactive polymers) technology to function like artificial muscles which provide the user with the support one needs for their activities, that are identified with a sensor. the target users are parkour practitioners as the designer felt the need to empower their sense of security through the supplement.

the designer focused on the finger area as a direct interface to strengthen the interactions between humans and the environment. ‘at a certain point in the project, I was dealing with cliff climbers, and over time I focused on parkour athletes, as I saw an interesting point in this type of sport, which is not secure at all,’ said lior.

furthermore, the designer preserved the biological and ergonomic aspects of the plugin and at the same time added a mechanical and technological feel. ‘as for the materiality I used three-dimensional knitting to give accuracy to the palms. connected by soldering-to-knitting and made of prints of TPE material (thermoplastic elastomer) which gives me the flexibility of the material with different stiffness. in some areas, there is rubber (XS EDGE) known from climbing shoes that increases friction and prevents slipping.’ stated the designer.

project info:

name: gripit

designer: lior edri student in bezalel academy of art and design

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina petridou | designboom