//22/02/2026//
SHORT DESCRIPTION:
I made my first Arduino project: a glove that can be used as a MIDI controller. The project is inspired by Imogen Heap’s MiMu Gloves. Unfortunately, I cannot afford expensive material, so this will be very low budget (+/-30 euros). You can find all the components I list online for low prices.
I used the Arduino Leonardo, because it can easily send MIDI signals without extra code or drivers (other Arduinos, like the Nano, require more setup). I recommend the Leonardo for its convenience and ease of use.
The main goals was to measure the bending of my fingers in the first place, so I decided to buy three 5-inch flex/bendsensors (five were too expensive, so I just bought for some fingers). Each of these flexsensors, would send out seperate data, which means you can map different fingers to different paramaters!
I also wanted to measure rotation of my hand, so I bought a MPU6050 accelomter/gyroscope. With this microcontroller, you can do way more than just measuring rotation (as the name states), but I decided to just keep it with the rotation as I am a beginner myself.
Disclaimer: I am a beginner myself, this is rather documentation of my work and progress rather than a tutorial, or for people who are curious how I make this stuff ;))
MATERIALS:
-Arduino Leonardo + Usb cable
-MPU 6050
-3 Flex sensors (2.2”)
-jumper wires
-Breadboard (prototyping)
-Glove + Sewing kit
*Not in the photo:
-Soldering metal + Solder
– Small soldering board
– Wire strippers
SOFTWARE:
-Arduino IDE (this is where you code the Arduino)
-Arduino MIDI (This is a Library you will install within the Arduino IDE software)
-MPU6050/I2Cdev library (Github) (This is also a library installed within Arduino IDE)
PINOUT:
Arduino 5V —> Breadboard 5V rail
Arduino GND —> Breadboard GND rail
Flexsensor (1) Leg 1 —> 5V
Flexsensor (1) Leg 2 —> GND
I__ Arduino A0 (in between the second leg and the GND, is the measuring spot, which we want to send to the Analog in of the Arduino, so we can take that data into the code! ps: it doesn’t matter which one of the legs you send into GND and which one into 5V, you can flip them!
Flexsensor (2) Leg 1 —> 5V
Flexsensor (2) Leg 2 —> GND
I__ Arduino A1 (again between second leg and GND)
Flexsensor (3) Leg 1 —> 5V
Flexsensor (3) Leg 2 —> GND
I__ Arduino A2 (again between second leg and GND)
MPU6050 VCC —> Arduino 5V
MPU6050 GND—> Arduino GND
MPU6050 SDA —> Arduino SDA
MPU6050 SCL —> Arduino SCL
You should already be able the Arduino as a midi device in the settings of your DAW! You can map each different finger to a paramater, aswell as the gyroscope!
I attached everything to the glove by sewing it on first, and afterwards a decided to work with glue to really make it secure.
I soldered all the connections with my limited soldering skills. It ended up working, except I had slight issues with the flexvalues alternating out of nowhere. I think the reason for that was the flexsensors being of bad quality. I would recommend investing in proper flexsensors to anyone who wants to build this!
ARDUINO CODE LINK:
I created this code, and uploaded it in Arduino IDE. You should be able to track the data in the Serial Monitor.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CPGp-qaKQSlntXWg07XIB4Cenf4VOAQrIolE9fh19nQ/edit?usp=drive_link
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