Even without a helmet, the VPL glove can be used to control computers with conventional screens, offering more capabilities than the ''mouse'' now favored by many computer users. An image of a hand replaces the cursor or arrow.

One early use for such technology is in video games. Later this year, Mattel Inc. will introduce a glove based on VPL's technology for use in playing Nintendo video games. Uses in Drug Design

At the University of North Carolina, scientists have developed a system for use in drug design that allows a chemist not only to see whether two molecules fit together but also to feel whether they do.

Using a hand to wield a special mechanical manipulator, a chemist twists and rotates a simulated molecule on the screen and tries to fit it into a second molecule. The computer calculates the electrostatic and other forces on the molecule and feeds it back to the manipulator, so the chemist actually feels whether the molecule is sliding into the socket smoothly or is meeting resistance.

Greenleaf Medical Systems, a start-up company in Palo Alto, Calif., employs VPL's glove in a system for use by doctors who specialize in hands, to measure how much the different joints of the hand can bend. A patient wearing the glove moves his or her hand and data are fed instantly into a computer.

Such gloves could also be of great use to people with disabilities. A demonstration program at Greenleaf allows a computer to be programmed to speak in response to hand gestures. Ideally, a system could be developed that would translate sign language into speech. Applications in Tele-Robotics

Another expected application is for tele-robotics, which involves operating a robot in a distant location. As a person's head moves in the helmet, television cameras on the robot would respond accordingly, allowing the person to see images of where the robot was. As the person's hand moved, the robot's hand would respond accordingly. NASA envisions using this technology to allow an astronaut inside the proposed space station to operate a robot making repairs outside.