-
Foot Controller V3
09/04/2017 at 05:33 • 0 commentsThe foot pad is really one of the biggest innovations for the project. The current version really isn't much different at it's core than the prototype, but there are some major improvements.
First, the FSR elements are fully integrated into the PCB. A typical FSR is just a layer of conductive rubber over top of a bunch of interlaced fingers. When you put pressure on the conductive rubber, it contacts the interlaced fingers underneath. The harder you press, the less resistive the connection becomes. To save money on a custom pad, I put the pattern I wanted directly onto my PCB (I used an Eagle script!), and just had to put one large piece of conductive rubber over top.
Here's a video of the 2nd Gen foot controller. It's wired, but has an integrated MCU and communicates with the control PCB over UART:
Here's the latest, Gen3 Foot Controller PCB. You can see the interlace pattern and the six "string" zones. The area between and around the string zones are linked together to form one big auxiliary FSR zone. This way, even if you aren't ready to strum the strings, the user can essentially set the dynamic level in advance. It's a feature that's not tested yet so I won't talk about it any more, but the electronics are there for when I'm ready to implement dynamics.The 3rd Gen foot controller is wireless (NRF chip on the far right), and has a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery that will last 12-14 hours. It also had indicator LEDs for charge state, low battery, and control activity. The main MCU is an ATmega, which is to the left of the Nordic RF chip.
Here's the 3D model of the full assembly. The pad area actually would have the padding layer and outer contact paper layer on top, but those aren't modeled. I have a prototype, but I'm traveling at the moment and can't take a picture...
-
Current Project State
09/04/2017 at 06:37 • 0 commentsThis project has been years in the making. Currently, the unit works as shown in the "Details" section on my project home page. All of the documentation is available, though I need to clean it up for sure. I've built three units, and they are production-repeatable, but I need to get the cost down and the assembly process quicker. I've had to shelf the project for the past few years because I went too far into debt with it and couldn't justify the expense.
Regardless, I'm hoping you all find this worthy of a Hackaday Prize, whose award money would be put towards moving the project the rest of the way forward!
-
Gratitude & Clarifications
11/10/2017 at 01:53 • 0 commentsHey Hackaday!
I've been really excited to see my project make it as far as it has in the HAD Prize ranks, and I have to tell you it has actually been really unexpected. THANK YOU to everyone who has liked, shared, and followed the Adaptive Guitar project!
I appreciate the comments and the feedback across the board, and though I admit that my entry has lacked much of any activity since I constructed my page for my official contest entry, please realize that I've spent a LOT of time on this project (>4000 hours probably), and that it's going to be a process for me to be able to take the time to break down my efforts in detail (which I WILL do, I promise - but my life has been under transition the last few months with very little time to spare).
I wanted to at least get the project out there, if not for an official HAD contest entry, at least to give the project new life and exposure to all of YOU, who I know can help me make it better and move it forward. I had no idea that the project would be so well received, and I'm reeling in anxiety over here as one of the finalists...
That said, my intention is to pick this project up full force and complete my vision for the Adaptive Guitar and many other ideas I have that extend the concept of assistive devices in musical context. I'll be blogging the details, and am sincerely and intently planning to make this project the first platform on which I become more of a contributor than a consumer here on Hackaday.
Thanks again, everybody!
Joe