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12. Skin Electronics

Week 12 – Wearable MIDI Piano Glove

Learning-by-doing approach & mini-lab experimentation

Project Aim

The aim of this project is to make learning musical notes and creating music more enjoyable and accessible for people of all ages.
The Piano Glove transforms music into a tangible and experiential form through touch-based interaction, encouraging intuitive learning rather than screen-based instruction.

Within the scope of this assignment, I approached the project as a mini laboratory practice, following Fabricademy’s learning methodology: experimenting, testing, failing, and iterating while closely following the course materials and examples.

Concept & Interaction

Each finger of the glove represents a musical note.
By touching conductive areas on the glove, the user can trigger notes wirelessly, turning the hand itself into a playable musical interface.

This approach supports: - Embodied learning
- Playful experimentation
- Accessibility for beginners and non-musicians

Hardware & Materials

  • ESP-32S microcontroller with WiFi + Bluetooth
  • Copper tape used as touch-sensitive electrodes
  • Textile glove as a wearable base
  • Conductive and regular wires
  • Sewing and textile fixation methods

The ESP-32S board provides 8 capacitive touch pins, which are mapped to the fingers of the glove.

Note Mapping

Each finger is assigned to one musical note:

  • Thumb → Do
  • Index → Re
  • Middle → Mi
  • Ring → Fa
  • Little → Sol
  • Additional mappings → La, Si, Do

When a finger is touched, the corresponding capacitive pin is activated and generates a MIDI note signal.

Software & MIDI Logic

The ESP-32 is programmed via the Arduino IDE.
MIDI-related libraries are used to generate and transmit MIDI note messages.

The code enables: - Reading capacitive touch values
- Mapping each touch to a MIDI note
- Sending MIDI data wirelessly via Bluetooth

This step allowed me to understand how physical interaction can be translated into digital musical data.

Mobile MIDI Communication

Two mobile applications work together in this system:

1. MIDI BLE Connect
- Acts as a Bluetooth bridge
- Connects the ESP-32 to the smartphone
- Transfers MIDI signals from the glove to the phone

2. Walk Band MIDI
- Receives MIDI signals via BLE
- Converts them into audible instrument sounds
- Allows the phone to behave like a real MIDI instrument

Through this setup, the glove is recognized as a wireless MIDI controller.

Fabrication & Assembly Process

Before integrating the electronics into the glove, all pin connections and touch responses were tested on the desk.
This testing phase helped verify: - Correct pin mapping
- Signal stability
- Touch sensitivity

After validation: - The ESP-32 board was fixed onto the glove
- Cables were secured using sewing techniques
- Copper tape sensors were attached to the fingers

Images

Video Documentation

Due to GitLab file size and streaming limitations, the MP4 video cannot be displayed directly on this page.
The full fabrication and testing process is documented in the video below.

Process & Interaction Video (Vimeo)

Watch the full process video on Vimeo

Video – Documentation of the making process, electronics testing, wearable integration, and interaction demonstration.

Learning Outcome

This assignment helped me understand: - How wearable electronics can be explored through small-scale experiments
- How capacitive touch sensing works on textile surfaces
- How MIDI logic can be integrated into wearable systems
- How physical gestures can be translated into digital sound

Rather than focusing on a final product, this project represents a learning-oriented prototype, aligned with Fabricademy’s emphasis on process, experimentation, and documentation.