Project
| # | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | Affordable Portable MIDI Keyboard Synthesizer |
David Gutzwiller Richard Engel Sujay Murali |
Akshatkumar Sanatbhai Sanghvi | design_document2.pdf final_paper1.pdf photo1.jpg photo2.jpg photo3.JPG presentation1.pptx proposal1.pdf video |
|
| Team Members: - Richard Engel (reengel2) - Sujay Murali (sujaym2) - David Gutzwiller (davidjg3) # PROBLEM One desirable quality for musical production instruments is portability. For many production setups, it can be difficult for musicians to take all of their gear with them, so it's convenient for them to own a robust portable synthesizer keyboard. However, another issue is the cost. There are many options available for compact portable synthesizers, but they tend to be hundreds or even thousands of dollars. This is especially intimidating for anyone trying to get into music production. # SOLUTION Our proposal is for a low-cost keyboard synthesizer. The instrument is both simple enough to save on cost, but also has enough features to be highly versatile for musicians. The keyboard would feature two octaves of range with an octave changer and pitch bend wheel, along with input knobs for volume, waveform synthesis, and ADSR envelope. These features would be enough to make this a cheap but robust portable instrument for any producer. # SOLUTION COMPONENTS ## USER INPUT User input would consist of one octave of keyboard keys, an octave changer and pitch bend wheel, and nine input knobs. One knob would be for volume, four would be for basic waveform synthesis (sine, square, sawtooth, triangle), and the last four would control an Attack Decay Sustain Release (ADSR) envelope for the notes. Each key will have two sensors: one sensor or switch to detect when a key is pressed, and one sensor to read the velocity of that key when pressed. Each input knob would be a potentiometer. The octave changer would also have switches to activate, and the pitch bend wheel would be bought off the shelf. ## CONTROL A microcontroller would take in the input values and velocities from key presses along with the volume, waveform, and ADSR knobs to generate and output sound and midi messages. ## OUTPUT The output would consist of both a built-in speaker that can directly transmit sound from the device and a USB port that can hook up to a computer that would transmit MIDI messages from the instrument. ## POWER Power would be provided either by a rechargeable battery built into the instrument or by a power supply plugged into the wall that would both power the device and charge the battery. There would also be an LED indicator displaying battery life/charging. # CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS - All keys, knobs, ports, and indicators are functional - Outputs audio through a built-in speaker - Outputs MIDI via USB to computer - Battery lasts at least 3 hours |
|||||