312   ELEKTROTEHNIŠKI VESTNIK 78(5) 
    STUDENT PROJECT 
 
 
Safety System with a Safety Glove 
Zumret Topčagić, Špela Vidrih, Jernej Sorta, mentor: Dejan Križaj 
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Electrical Engineering  
E-mail: Dejan.Krizaj@fe.uni-lj.si 
 
According to the information of the Health Insurance 
Institution of Slovenia, there are more than 11 million 
working days per year in Slovenia lost due to work-
related injuries. These injuries are also the cause for a 
3% decrease in the gross domestic product (source: 
Delo, Nov.7.2011). It is mandatory for any employer to 
assure appropriate safe working conditions. Mostly, 
work-related injuries are due to high falls, smashing, 
contact with electricity or falling objects.  
At the Laboratory for Bioelectromagnetics at the 
Faculty of Electrical Engineering (University of 
Ljubljana), four students decided to develop, under the 
mentorship of their professor, a system that would 
increase the level of safety when using powered 
machinery. At first, their main wish was to upgrade with 
safety features an already existing product. Since they 
found no such product on the market, they investigated 
the possibility of patenting our solution. They believe to 
have found a unique solution to the problem for which 
they recently applied for a Slovenian patent. 
The students and a professor developed a safety system, 
composed of a central unit and a pair (or pairs) of 
gloves which incorporate an electronic circuitry and a 
pressure sensor (Figure 1). 
 
 
 
Figure 1. Safety system composed of a safety glove and a 
central unit which ensures an immediate shutdown of the 
working machine in case of a rupture or upon reporting a 
damage of the safety glove. 
 
 
 
We developed a safety system for the users of powered 
machinery. The system is composed of a central unit 
and two (or more) gloves which incorporate electronic 
circuitry and a pressure sensor.  (Picture 1).  
 The electronic part of the developed safety system 
uses wireless connections eZ430-RF2500T of the 
company Texas Instruments manufacture. The 
electronic circuitry of the glove consists of a 
microcontroller MSP430F2274 (whose advantage are a 
low power consumption and an integrated circuit with a 
radio transmitter enabling wireless connection to the 
second unit of the frequency range of 2.4GHz) and a 
UART/USB interface (connectable to the unit and 
enabling data sending and receiving using a USB 
protocol from and to the computer).  
 The electronic circuitry of the glove continuously 
checks the state of the pressure sensor, used as a panic 
button as well as any possible damage to the glove. If 
the circuitry detects damage to the glove or voluntary 
pressing the panic button, it immediately alerts the 
central unit using wireless connection. The central unit 
immediately shuts down the working machine and 
initiates a visible and audible alarm, informs the rescue 
service and reports the damage to the main computer. If 
the working machine is rotational, the central unit may 
also trigger extra brakes incorporated in the machine for 
fast stopping. The scheme of the safety system is shown 
in Figure 2.  
 
 
 
Figure 2. Scheme of the developed safety system 

ELEKTROTEHNIŠKI VESTNIK 78(5)   313 
STUDENT PROJECT 
When researching the existing solutions through internet 
and patent-databases search, the students and a 
professor found several patents offering possible 
solutions to the problem. As most of them were 
impracticable due to technological and scientific 
deficiencies and since the state of the art allows for new 
innovative approaches, the students and a professor 
realized that their idea importantly differed from others 
mostly in using the modern electronic technology to 
detect the damage to the glove and transmit the report 
on the damage to the central unit, thus ensuring better 
miniaturization of the electronics part and smaller 
power consumption. Furthermore, besides detecting 
cutting the glove, their system also sensor its strong 
squeezing. Moreover, the glove is equipped with a 
pressure sensor (panic button) to be activated by the 
user to inform that some other part of her/his body has 
suffered an injury or that the working machine shows 
some abnormalities requiring an immediate shutting 
down the working machine. Another advantage of the 
developed safety system is its universality. Not being 
designed for a particular machine, it can be used with 
almost any other one and it can be quickly moved from 
one machine to another. The small size of the whole 
system and the wireless connection between the central 
unit and the glove enables the users to move quite 
freely. They can use one of several pairs of gloves (in 
case there are more users and more machines) on 
several different machines, because the electronic 
circuitry of the glove broadcasts the code that is unique 
to each pair of the gloves and machines. So, in case of 
damage, the central unit specifies which worker is 
risking danger and it only stops the machine causing a 
potential injury.  
 The students and the professor believe that the 
structure of their safety glove is the most complex and 
important part in their research, they will continue 
developing new ways for its realization. They have 
already tested several different materials (conductive 
thread and rubber, carbon fibers, latex), structures and 
methods of its manufacturing (sewing, gluing). At the 
moment they are trying to improve it by using a 
combination of conductive and insulating layers. Their 
structure is specified in the application. 
 How to go on? There is a long way from the idea to 
the development of a useful production prototype. The 
students and the professor have already gone through 
several processes, such as searching and studying of the 
existing patents, investigating possible solutions, 
looking for appropriate modern technological solutions, 
selecting and realizing the electronic circuitry and its 
programming, etc. Within the frame of their 
investigations they have contacted several industries 
(with some they have already signed nondisclosure 
agreements) and searched for an appropriate unique 
solution that would be technologically viable and 
patentable. They have learnt the importance and 
advantages of team working and bringing together 
different knowledge and skills in their effort to reach 
their common final goal. Besides  needed unavoidable 
technical competences, there are also other “softer” 
abilities that are important, such as the ability of 
expression, writing, searching for information, making 
compromises, collaboration, comradeship, etc. Being 
involved into this particular project, they have acquired 
the experiences that will serve them well in our future 
professional life.  
 Unfortunately, besides the many positive effect of 
their team working, the students realized that the 
declared support to the students innovation work is only 
of a formal character. Despite much talking about the 
importance of innovation and patenting, there is 
practically no support to the students’ activities in this 
area. The University is the rightful owner of any 
intellectual work, accomplished at the University by 
students. Despite the established office for innovations, 
only innovations providing financial profit through 
commercialization of the patent are supported. To 
improve the current situation lacking on appropriate 
support, relatively small financial support (compared to 
that large research projects) would already motivate 
students and university workers to be more innovative. 
The current “support” to innovative work is in fact 
destimulating and even far from leading to an 
innovative society the whole country could benefit 
from.