I love the Power Glove. It’s so bad.
The Power Glove, originally released in 1989, was an accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was officially licensed by Nintendo, but was designed and distributed by Mattel. You might be familiar with it from the movie “The Wizard,” which was also released in 1989 and gave us the iconic clip linked above.
Although most remember it as cheap, ineffectual, and indeed “bad,” the development process behind the Power Glove is actually quite interesting. This article by Mental Floss’s Jake Rossen goes into much more detail, but essentially the Power Glove was originally based on a $8800 NASA glove called the “Data Glove,” which was initially envisioned for helping astronauts “control robots in space.” If that excerpt piqued your interest, then I 100% recommend giving Rossen’s article a read.
Our lab has a Power Glove in a display case near the main entrance to the ATEC building. Make sure to look out for it next time you stop by!