Neomano Glove

Published , Updated , by Wayne Williams in Category: Assistive Robotic Glove, Mobility
Neomano Feature Image

The Neomano is a soft, assistive robotic glove for people with movement in their wrist and arm but little to no strength in their hands.

What’s On This Page?

A Quick Look at the Neomano Glove

The Neomano glove is for users who have movement in their arm and wrist but very little or no strength in their hands. It actively assists users in closing their index and middle fingers to grasp objects. This first video does an excellent job of explaining how the glove works:

This next video does a good job of showing how the glove can be used and its benefits to end-users.

As you can see from these videos, despite its relative simplicity compared to some of the assistive robotic gloves now entering the market, this glove is a highly useful device. And at the relatively inexpensive price of $2,000 US, it is currently the most affordable device in this category.

Here is a better look at the components that make up the Neomano:

Neomano Components
  1. Glove
  2. Power Supply
  3. Remote control

Note, the neckstrap is just an alternative way to carry around the remote control.

Key Features

Grip Patterns & Control System

The Neomano doesn’t have grip patterns for its two powered fingers. The only action it allows is to close those two fingers in unison. However, as shown in the first video, users can manually position the thumb to form different grips such as closing the two powered fingers against the thumb to form a pinch grip versus wrapping the fingers around an object.

The control system is a Bluetooth wireless remote control that provides a Grip button to close the fingers and a Release button to release them. The closing action is powered and continuous, i.e. as long as you hold the Grip button down the fingers will continue closing until they’ve reached their limit. The mechanism used to do this consists of artificial tendons sewn into the glove that are reeled in by a motor attached to the side of the hand.

The release action is entirely passive, i.e. the motor simply releases the artificial tendons, which are elastic by nature. This allows the two fingers to return to their neutral position. Note, however, that to assist in the release process, the user does need some ability to relax their fingers.

Proportional Force

The Neomano does not support proportional force. It closes in a steady, consistent manner as long as the user continues to press the Grip button.

Sensory Feedback

The Neomano does not provide any sensory feedback. However, the fact that it is only a partial glove allows the user to receive normal sensory feedback from the uncovered portions of the hand.

Size & Weight

The Neomano is available in five different sizes:

Neomano Size Chart

We do not know the weight of the glove itself but the power supply only weighs 65 grams and the remote control only weighs 29 grams.

Lift Capacity & Grip Strength

The Neomano can lift up to 2 kilograms. This is equivalent to 20 Newtons of force. For comparison, the average maximum grip force for women is 292 Newtons, and, for men, 517 Newtons. The average grip force used in daily activities is 70 Newtons.

Given this information, the Neomano is clearly not intended for heavy work. But it is suitable for tasks like eating, drinking, brushing one’s teeth, opening doors, and carrying shopping bags that weigh less than 2 kilograms.

Durability

Marketing material for the Neomano claims that it is “lightweight, strong and flexible”. We have no way to independently verify this until we get durability feedback from real users through our User Satisfaction Survey.

However, the Neomano does come with a 1-year warranty. Also, the textile portion of the glove can be replaced independently of the other components.

Water and Dust Resistance

As a textile, the glove handles both water and dust with ease. We do not yet have any information on the water or dust resistance ratings for the other components. We will update this section as soon as we obtain this information.

Glove Options

We have not seen any instance of the Neomano being used with another glove. Nor does the company mention doing so.

Batteries

The Neomano’s remote control uses two AAA batteries that should last for roughly 150 days.

The power supply that drives the glove motor uses three AA batteries that can be either alkaline or rechargeable. Alkaline batteries will last a maximum of 11.5 hours of active use while rechargeables will last for a maximum of 23.5 hours.

Of note, the Neomano does not come with batteries. Users must purchase them on their own.

User Software

There is no mention of any user software with the Neomano.

Price

The Neomano sells for $2,000 US.

For a complete list of prices for other assistive robotic gloves, please see our Assistive Robotic Glove Price List.

Availability

The Neomano currently appears to ship only to the U.S., U.S territories, and Canada.

Warranty

The Neomano comes with a 1-year warranty.

User Feedback Survey & Results

Survey

Are you currently using the Neomano glove or have you used it in the past?

If so, why not help others by sharing your experiences in this quick survey:

Results

We do not yet have a sufficient number of survey participants to publish fair and accurate results for the Neomano glove.

As soon as we do, we’ll update this section.

Considerations Before Buying a Neomano Glove

We’re excited to see such a helpful device available at such a reasonable price. Hats off to the company that makes the Neomano, Neofect, for delivering a device that is financially accessible. We’d also like to commend them for their innovative lineup of rehabilitation devices.

One key consideration for this type of product is whether you have sufficient arm, wrist, and hand movement to use it. For the Neomano, which actively closes the user’s index and middle fingers, movement in those fingers is obviously less important than it is for devices that do not provide active assistance. However, as mentioned, users do need some ability to relax their fingers to help return them to the neutral position after releasing the glove’s grip.

Otherwise, we will have little to say about the Neomano until we get sufficient feedback from our User Satisfaction Survey.

For a list of competitor devices, see current options for assistive robotic gloves.

For a comprehensive description of all assistive robotic glove technologies, devices, and research, see our complete guide.

Click here for more information on Neomano.

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