Laurence Lai
Published © GPL3+

DIY Glove Controlled Robotic Hand

Control a servo motor hand with the power of a glove and DIY flex sensors!

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DIY Glove Controlled Robotic Hand

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Arduino UNO
Arduino UNO
×1
Project Foam
This can be replaced by any other material that is solid and can be molded into place
×1
Tape
Optional layer to protect the foam/Holds flex sensors in place
×1
String/Fishing Wire
×1
Metal Springs
Thin spring around the length of a finger. Can combine shorter springs together with solder if necessary.
×1
SG90 Micro-servo motor
SG90 Micro-servo motor
×5
Breadboard (generic)
Breadboard (generic)
×1
Jumper wires (generic)
Jumper wires (generic)
×1
Resistor 10k ohm
Resistor 10k ohm
×5
4xAA battery holder
4xAA battery holder
Alternative power supplies possible too
×1
Glove
Glove to control the robotic hand
×1
Paper and Pencil
DIY flex sensor parts
×1
Flexible Plastic Sheet
Allows flex sensor to flex
×1
Zipties or Rubber Bands
Cable organization
×1

Software apps and online services

Arduino IDE
Arduino IDE

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Hot glue gun (generic)
Hot glue gun (generic)
Wire Stripper & Cutter, 18-10 AWG / 0.75-4mm² Capacity Wires
Wire Stripper & Cutter, 18-10 AWG / 0.75-4mm² Capacity Wires
Soldering iron (generic)
Soldering iron (generic)

Story

Read more

Schematics

Circuit Diagram

Code

Glove Controlled Robotic Hand

Arduino
Code to control the hand and the glove.
Remember to change parameters to be specific to your flex sensors and servos. Use the testFlex() function to determine bounds for when the flex sensor is opened and closed. Input/output pins may vary too.
#include <Servo.h>
//define servo motors 
Servo pinkie, ring, middle, index, thumb;

//define flex sensors on glove (F1 = flex sensor 1)
const int pinkieFlex = A0; //bent - 710, flat - 900 (values vary depending on your own flex sensors))
const int ringFlex = A1; //bent - 920, flat - 965
const int middleFlex = A2; //bent - 966, flat - 993
const int indexFlex = A3; //bent - 808, flat - 870
const int thumbFlex = A4; //bent - 490, flat - 525


void setup(){
  //attach servo motors to digital pins
  pinkie.attach(13);
  ring.attach(12);
  middle.attach(11);
  index.attach(9);
  thumb.attach(10);

  //starting position for all fingers
  pinkie.write(180);
  ring.write(180);
  middle.write(180);
  index.write(180);
  thumb.write(180);
 
  //debug
  Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop(){
  //testFlex(); //use testFlex to debug Flex sensor values
  //assign fingercontrol function for each finger 
  fingerControl(pinkie, pinkieFlex, 30, 180, 710, 900);
  fingerControl(ring, ringFlex, 0, 180, 935, 965);
  fingerControl(middle, middleFlex, 0, 180, 976, 985);
  fingerControl(index, indexFlex, 30, 180, 850, 920);
  fingerControl(thumb, thumbFlex, 0, 180, 487, 500);
}

void fingerControl(Servo servo, int flex, int s_bent, int s_flat, int f_bent, int f_flat) {
  //use parameters to customize for each servo/flex sensor
    //servo - name of servo (ex. pinkie), flex - name of flex sensor (ex. pinkieFlex)
    //s_bent - servo motor value when finger bent, s_flat - servo motor value when finger flat
    //f_bent - flex sensor value when finger bent, f_flat - flex sensor value when finger flat
  //define flex sesnor and servo position
  int servo_pos;
  int flex_pos;
  flex_pos = analogRead(flex); //read flex sensor value
  //Serial.println(flex_pos); //debug line 
  servo_pos = map(flex_pos, f_bent, f_flat, s_bent, s_flat); //map flex sensor values to servo motors
  servo.write(servo_pos); //write mapped servo value to servo
  delay(100); //delay for efficiency
}

void testFlex(){
  //use serial monitor to calcultate flex sensor bounds - reacts in live time to glove
  int val0 = analogRead(A0);
  Serial.println("");
  Serial.print(" A0: ");
  Serial.print(val0);
  
  int val1 = analogRead(A1);
  Serial.print(" A1: ");
  Serial.print(val1);
  
  int val2 = analogRead(A2);
  Serial.print(" A2: ");
  Serial.print(val2);
  
  int val3 = analogRead(A3);
  Serial.print(" A3: ");
  Serial.print(val3);
  
  int val4 = analogRead(A4);
  Serial.print(" A4: ");
  Serial.print(val4);

  delay(500); //delay for efficiency 
}

Credits

Laurence Lai

Laurence Lai

1 project • 15 followers

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