Individual Piano Key Controller Project P13363 Guide: Gerald Garavuso Members: Justine Converse (IE) James Cover (CE) Alex Eschbach (EE) Jason Hang (ME) Ashley Trode (EE)

Project Background Current MIDI controllers allow flexibility of musical parameters beyond just playing notes. Musicians often have to play keys with one hand while controlling parameters with the other. Enable delivery of MIDI input while playing notes Our goal is to design and develop a MIDI controller capable of controlling musical parameter while playing notes.

Project Scope Individual control of musical parameters on each note using touchpads regardless of their implementation on or off the MIDI controller. Touchpad integrated into 2-8 keys. Easy to clean and maintain controller. User should be able to play the keyboard normally without having the individual controls interfering. MIDI controller should maintain its original structural and functional integrity.

Benchmarking Roger Linn Design: LinnStrument – Pressure sensitive multi touch surface that is scanned at high speeds and resolution. – Detects subtle finger movements using 3D for control of note expression, timbre and pitch at the same time. – Several different overlays available including piano keys, guitar frets, hex keys and drum pads. – Simple connection using a USB connection to the computer. Haken Audio: Continuum FingerBoard – Instrument that allows for real time performance control in three dimensions – Greater pitch range than a traditional 88 MIDI keyboard. – Polyphonic and monophonic capabilities – Able to track up to 16 fingers at once. – Construction: 256 metal rods with magnets located on both ends Supported by piano-wire springs Hall effect sensors measure the position of the magnets Uses neighboring bars to detect finger position.

Project Plan

How The System Works

Customer Needs Customer Need # Importance (1=Low) DescriptionComments/Status CN19Parameter controls integrated into each piano key Users should not notice that the controls are in the keys CN29Reliability Parameter controls work everytime they are initialized CN39 MIDI output from controller should be easily interpreted Any software can map MIDI for the controller to control anything CN49Simple MIDI keyboard functionalityMIDI keyboard can still function on its own CN59 Maintain original MIDI controller keys structural integrity With embedded controls, the controller still can withstand the same forces as before CN69Near real time parameter controlsThere should not be any delay in parameter controls CN73Ability to turn off controlsUsers can turn on/off controls CN83Device durabilityWith normal wear and tear CN93Device durability II With accidents such as being dropped and drink spills CN103Low maintenance Users do not need to spend a lot of time maintaining the controller CN113Adjustable sensitivity of controlsUser can adjust sensitivity on the fly CN123Integration to PC through standard connectionsUSB is ideal CN133Within budget constraintsGoal is less than $500 CN143Ease maintenanceIf something does fail, should be easy to fix

Engineering Metrics Engr. Spec. # ImportanceSource Specification (description) Unit of Measure Marginal Value Ideal ValueComments/Status ES11CN4Controller Weightlb42 Weight of a normal 25 key MIDI controller ES23CN12Powered by USB Voltage (V) Current (mA) 5.00 V 500 mA ES39CN6Response Timems<5<10 ES43CN8 CN9Controller durabilityyears35From normal use ES59CN1Controls do not interfereBooleanYes Controls do not affect playing ES63 Number of keys#28For feasibility purposes ES73CN1 CN4Key areamm Use availiable space on keys ES89CN3Plug and Play capabilityBooleanYes No additional software on PC side needed ES93CN9Does controller operate after being droppedBooleanYes Accidental drops don't affect operation ES109CN13Total component costs$<300<100 Cost of sensors could increase as keys increase ES119 CN5 CN8 CN2 Each key must be able to withstand a certain amount of forceN510Have to check this number ES121CN12Single cable connectionQuantity11Power and Data

Function Diagram

Concept Selection – Iteration 1

Touchpad (or trackpad): is a pointing device featuring a tactile sensor, a specialized surface that can translate the motion and position of a user’s fingers to a relative position on screen. Touchpad – Each touchpad would also need a driver in order to work – Could not find a touch pad that was small enough to fit the surface of the key – There is a lot of previous knowledge on this topic – The cost of an individual touch pad and driver would be greater than $50 Blackberry Trackpad/Trackball – Depending on manufacturer, hard to find specs and datasheet – Doesn't cover all of key – Trackball similar to touchpad in implementation – Cost of each trackpad/trackball is cheap.

Concept Selection – Iteration 1 Ribbon Controller is a pair of thin strips whose electrical potential varies from one end to another. The finger creates an electrical contact with the strip. It is similar to a touchpad but only registers linear motion. It can be used with anything that is affected by control voltage. – Does not allow for dual axis control. – Could affect the structural integrity of the piano key. – Would require analog to digital conversions. Conductive Strips are multiple touch sensitive strips that will give the position of the finger based on whether strips are activated or not. – To have smooth control of the musical parameters, multiple strips are necessary. – Strips would need to be manufactured by us. – Keys would have to be modified to fit the strips that we manufactured.

Concept Selection – Iteration 2 – Ranked each concept from 1-4, with 1 being the best out of the four and 4 being the worst. The concept with the lowest score will be the one chosen

Concept Selection Track pad integrated into keyboard keys Conductive strips (estimate 4 per key)

Risk Assessment

Conclusion Complete  Team Procedure  Plan/Schedule  Customer needs Needs work/Next Steps  Final selection of specific component  Research of parts  Designs for selected concepts

Questions 1. What do you think are the holes in our concepts? 2. How important do you think covering the entire key is? 3. Given the concept of using track pads or conductive strips how difficult/logical do you think it would be to integrate into the keys? 4. Do you see any key information we are missing regarding either concept?

Thank You!