I get what you mean now. At first I had interpreted "amount" as "number." It's an interesting idea, but I think it's beyond the scope of this prototype. Truth is, I'm not too sure about the context for glissandi on the recorder, i.e. what it involves as far as finger placement on holes. Further to that, I can't really visualize what the mechanical means of accomplishing that might be in terms of having a way to cover the holes both quickly and at a slower, variable speed....how about something like common hobby servos's that could be used to move a sleeve on the flute up and down to allow variable amounts of the hole to be exposed?
Actually, I started out this whole project by learning how to tear apart the contents of a MIDI file. The idea is to be able to write a composition in notation software like Sibelius, save it as a MIDI file, open the MIDI file in some translation software of my own design, and then send that to the robot. I don't know anything about interfacing an mcu to RAM (any tips/component suggestions out there on that?), so there are going to be some limits on what I can manage in the first prototypes. My idea for the first round is to actually just hard-program a PIC for a certain tune, thereby using the program memory to store the tune as oppose to copious amounts of RAM.How are you going to interface it? My guess is that you could use a MIDI file and have it translated into serial/parallel signal outputted to a uC.
Although I don't know much about that field, I guess it is, and you're not the first one to have suggested it. From an etymological perspective, I suppose it's animusic, although I find that in itself to be a vague term.Becoming a bit like Animusic, non?
Good questions.How much memory do you need?
Could you use I2C EEPROMs instead of RAM?
Thanks for the suggestion. With a 20ms period, wouldn't the servo in the schematic only refresh at about 50Hz? It's my impression that that would be too long of a time to delay, and cause noticeable performance issues particular if coordinating multiple recorder robots in the future. My plan for using solenoids for the fingers of RCD-1 will perhaps make more sense when I post my concept drawing for those sometime in the near future. I'm not too concerned about finesse, but more concerned about speed, for the first prototype. Perhaps if it was a tin-whistle robot the need for portamento playing and its inherent mechanics would be a bigger priority given the kind of repertoire common to that instrument, but for the recorder I don't sense that glissandi or portemento are that big deal from the repertoire I've seen. In the meantime, here are some photos of the Yamaha YRS-24B that will be used for RCD-1 to give you a better idea of what I'm up against. You'll notice that the holes for the third and fourth finger are actually double holes, and this is to make half-holing easier for human players, although I don't think it'll make much difference either way for RCD-1. The thumb hole is just a normal hole like most of the others, though, despite the need for it to be half-holed in order to play in the upper octave of the recorder. As I said, my simple plan for accomplishing that will make more sense once you see the concept drawings, so hang tight!blueroomelectronics said:A servo moving a tapered plunger could fill the hole in the flute partially or fully depending on the servo angle.
That was my original plan, and the one I'm going with to begin. What do you mean by the second page (sorry, I still have a lot of sorting through the datasheets on PICs)? Presuming I rearrange the 3 bytes per note I've mentioned above into two 14-bit words, then that'd give me 1000 notes for the prototype, which is ample. Is it naive of me to presume that I might be able to store data in a PICs program space this way though? I mean, what I'm proposing is essentially the same as using a DATA statement in BASIC - can this be done in assembly on a PIC?Pommie said:Why not just use a 16f88 and use the second page to store your data. That gives you 2K or read/write memory and each location can contain 14 bits.
Hmm... my plan is to use some of these:Another thing you may want to consider is the small solenoids sold to control model railway points.
Same here. By far the hardest part about making automated musical instruments is the fact that most parts you can scavenge weren't designed with taking into account as a perogative how much sound they make during their normal operation. I don't suspect the solenoids will make much sound at all when activated, and as you can see from the concept drawing, their impact on the recorder will be cushioned by a sponge and piece of rubber. They're not moving very far, and they don't have to press very hard against the recorder. The thing I haven't fully taken into account is when they retract from the recorder with the elastic band - there'll have to be some sort of stop on the solenoid at the opposite end of the pin/finger to prevent the pin from jumping/falling out altogether, but again, whatever I use to stop the retraction can be spongy to limit the amount of operation noise.I wonder how much noise the solenoids will make.
As it says in the OP, the end of August, but I'm planning on sharing my progress on this forum for support and advice (so the suspense shouldn't kill you). The timeline is for an autonomous, single recorder playing somewhere close to a first-year student level, but the project will extend beyond the end of this summer to as far as I have the ambition, patience, and resources for. As far as sound insulation for the solenoids is concerned, I'm not going to get too carried away with ideas until I've actually got the things. Provided the pins are machined to fit the casings well, and enough cushioning for the extension and retraction, they shouldn't really need any insulation other than that. Remember, some of the sound from the robot (i.e. the recorder) I want to be able to hear, so that limits the options for sound insulation, and just from an esthetic point of view I'd like to actually be able to see as much of the recorder and the robot's mechanisms as possible (hence, for instance, the choice of acrylic sheet for mounting the solenoids).Looking good! when can we expect the final product?
If you want to limit the sound coming from the solenoids, why not wrap them in foam or somthing? What about bubble wrap? I dont know what that would do, but its just an idea.
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