Hello,
My name is Bakare Zainab Omodesola, a final year Systems Engineering student at the University
of Lagos (Matriculation No: 190407054). I am reaching out to you because I need help building
the physical prototype for my final year project, and I believe you have the skills to make it happen.
I have put this document together to give you a clear picture of what the project is, what I need
built, and what I will be providing to make the build as straightforward as possible. Please read
through it fully before we discuss cost and timeline.
What Is This Project About?
The project is called the Soft Wearable Hand Rehabilitation Robot. In plain terms, it is a smart
glove that helps people who have lost some ability to move their fingers, usually due to stroke,
spinal cord injury, or hand trauma, to practice rehabilitation exercises at home without needing a
physiotherapist present every session.
The glove works like this: five soft silicone finger attachments inflate with air and gently bend the
patient's fingers through a rehabilitation movement. At the same time, five flexible sensors
embedded in the fabric track exactly what angle each finger is at in real time. A small
microcontroller reads those sensor values ten times every second and uses a control algorithm
to decide how much air pressure to apply to each finger based on how much the patient is
contributing on their own.
The key idea is that the glove does not just force the hand to move on a fixed programme. It
detects when the patient is trying to move independently and reduces its own assistance so that
the patient does their own work. When the patient is tired or passive, it increases its help. This
approach is clinically proven to produce better recovery outcomes than passive therapy.
Why Does This Matter?
There are over 100 million stroke survivors worldwide, and for most of them, regaining hand
function is one of the hardest parts of recovery. Conventional physiotherapy is expensive, requires
clinic visits, and gives patients only about 30 repetitions per session, far below what is needed for
meaningful recovery. A wearable device that can deliver hundreds of repetitions at home,
intelligently adjusting to the patient's condition, addresses a real and urgent gap.
This prototype is a university research device, not a commercial product. The goal is to
demonstrate that the concept works, validate the control algorithm, and produce results for the
final year project report. It does not need to be production-grade, but it does need to function
reliably enough to run a pilot test with a small group of volunteers.
What Exactly Needs to Be Built?
The system has three main physical parts that need to come together:
Part 1 — The Soft Glove with Actuators
Five PneuNet silicone finger actuators need to be fabricated by hand and attached to a lycra
glove. A PneuNet actuator is a soft silicone structure with a series of internal air chambers. When
air is pumped in, the chambers inflate and the structure bends, gently flexing the finger it is
attached to. The material used is Ecoflex 00-30 silicone, which is very soft and skin-safe, with a
stiffer Dragon Skin 20 layer on one side that forces the bending to happen in the right direction.
Each actuator is 80 mm long, has 8 internal chambers, and connects to an air tube that runs to
the wrist where the valve system sits. The fabrication involves 3D printing moulds in PLA, pouring
and curing the silicone, sealing the air connections, and wrapping thread reinforcement around
each chamber to control the bending direction.
Part 2 — The Sensor and Electronics System
Five resistive flex sensors are sewn into channels along the top of each finger of the glove. These
sensors change their electrical resistance when bent, and a simple voltage divider circuit on a
breadboard converts that resistance change into a voltage that the Arduino Nano microcontroller
can read.
The Arduino Nano is the brain of the system. It reads all five sensor voltages, calculates the joint
angles, runs the control algorithm, and sends commands to five solenoid valves that control the
air pressure going to each finger actuator. The whole cycle runs in 100 milliseconds, meaning it
updates ten times per second.
The electronic components are all standard off-the-shelf parts available locally or online. The
circuit is breadboard-based for this prototype stage, not a custom PCB.
Part 3 — The Pneumatic System
A small 12V DC diaphragm air pump supplies compressed air to the system. Five solenoid valves,
one per finger, sit between the pump and the actuators. The Arduino controls these valves through
a relay module, opening and closing them to regulate how much air pressure reaches each finger
actuator at any given moment.
What I Will Provide to You
I am not handing you just an idea and asking you to figure out the rest. Here is what I will give
you:
• The full project report PDF, which contains the detailed system design, all the technical
specifications, and the justification for every design decision
• The complete components list with exact part names, specifications, and quantities —
you should not need to guess what to buy
• The 3D CAD files for the actuator moulds so you can print them directly
• The complete Arduino firmware code — the control algorithm is already written and
ready to upload
• Step by step fabrication instructions for the silicone actuators
• Step by step circuit wiring instructions
• Sensor calibration procedure so you know exactly how to set the system up after
assembly
• Testing procedure so you know what a successful build looks like before handing it back
In short, your job is to physically assemble what I have designed. You will not need to write any
code or make any engineering decisions. Those are already done.
Skills You Will Need
I want to be honest about what this build requires so there are no surprises:
Silicone fabrication: You need to be comfortable mixing and pouring two-part silicone, working
with moulds, and handling curing times. This is the most critical skill. Mistakes here are hard to
fix.
3D printing: The actuator moulds need to be printed in PLA. If you do not have a printer, access
to one is needed. The print files will be provided.
Basic electronics: You need to be able to read a wiring diagram, use a breadboard, connect
components, and use a multimeter to verify connections. You do not need to understand the
algorithm, only the wiring.
Arduino programming: You only need to be able to install VS Code, paste the provided code,
and click upload. No coding knowledge is required.
Sewing and fabric work: The sensors need to be sewn into the glove fabric. Basic hand sewing
is sufficient.
Timeline and What I Need From You
I need this prototype completed and working within the project deadline. Before we agree on
anything, I need to know:
1. Can you do all five of the above tasks, or do you need to bring in someone else for any
of them?
2. What is your estimated timeline from receiving all files and components to delivering a
working prototype?
3. Do you have access to a 3D printer, or do you need me to arrange the mould printing
separately?
4. Do you have access to a vacuum chamber for degassing the silicone? This is important
for actuator quality.
5. What is your cost estimate for labour? I will handle purchasing the components myself.
Final Note
This project matters to me a lot. It is the culmination of four years of engineering study, and the
prototype needs to work well enough to demonstrate the concept to my supervisor and
department. I am looking for someone reliable who will take the build seriously and communicate
with me throughout the process.
I am available to answer any technical questions at any time. Once we agree to work together, I
will send everything listed above immediately so the build can start without delay.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I look forward to hearing from you.