Laser Harp Team

Team Name

Light Luthiers

Timeline

Fall 2019 – Spring 2020

Students

  • Mitchell Lux
  • Sohaib Siddiqui
  • Zackery Gualandi
  • Michael Morrow
  • Siddhart Banarjee

Abstract

The Laser Harp is an electronic system that mimics the performance of a harp, a musical instrument. Laser Harp will be a “string” instrument, but instead of strings, it will have lasers that when you break the line of light, it will make the corresponding tone from different instruments like a string.  The 13 lasers emitted by the system represents a full musical octet. This is intended to be used as a complete replacement of a traditional music device and concept systems like these would revolutionize the electronic musical space. The instrument will be built in a compact design with everything in a all in one device for portability, so the user of this system will be able to play it without having to carry a bulky musical instrument. This device will be easy to use with simple controls to be able to connect with as many age groups as possible.

Background

STEM is a very broad field, and it may not be the most appealing to students due to a lack of knowledge of the great things that can be achieved by those who opt for a STEM career path. We plan to make a STEM career more appealing to those who may not fully understand the near limitless potential that this line of work provides. Computer Science and Engineering can seem pretty abstract and potentially not very appealing. We want to change that. Our team strives to show how cool this field can Look and Sound. The ’coolness’ factor will attract school students, musical educators, professional musicians to try out digital musical devices. Electronic sound production is already replacing use of traditional musical instruments in online space such as YouTube, where You-Tubers can produce their own music for their channels using software. This system will take that concept and create a hardware based approach where users can produce cool digital music on the fly by learning some basic instrument moves. The revolution in this space is already happening today where we see professional competitions for musical performances with a laser harp.

Project Requirements

  • 13 emitted laser strings
  • Built-in speakers
  • All-in-one device (no extra devices or visible internals)
  • Input latency less than 10ms
  • Physical switches for sound control
  • Device under 10lbs for portability
  • Lasers safe for interaction with anything
  • No sharp edges (since will be used by children)
  • Speaker volume around max 80db
  • Multiple voices able to be played (different instruments)

System Overview

The system overview of our product creates a 3-layer system based upon collecting input, controlling that input, and outputting sound through different output channels. The input layer gathers different settings controlled by the user. Then based on these settings and the users interactions with the lasers, the device will use these inputs to control an audio output signal. This signal can be formatted and sent to different audio-outs based on user-preference.
INPUT LAYER
This layer communicates with the input modules such as the on/off switch, the lasers and sensors, voice, and volume. When the power is switched on, it will signal to the laser and motor to turn on. It will detect if a MIDI jack or quarter-inch audio output jack is plugged in and determine which output medias are available. These inputs are then sent to the Control Layer and are used to run and operate the device.
CONTROL LAYER
The Control layer encompasses everything the user interacts with and observes from the device, such as the part that controls the stepper motor, i.e. it’s steps, and frequency. The layer controls the parts of the device that the user interacts with like emitting the lasers correctly, and using the different settings to change the sound. This layer also communicates with the light detecting resistor to detect when a beam was disrupted by the user. It will determine the time at which the beam was interrupted. With this, it will also determine the position of the motor when a beam was broken, and communicate it to the Output Layer so that the corresponding note may be played to the appropriate output medium.
OUTPUT LAYER
The purpose of the Output Layer is to determine which audio output medium is appropriate to play notes to; speakers, MIDI, or amplifier/external speakers. Then, once determined it will play the audio to the proper output(s). It also is used to for displaying things to the user such as the separate beams to interact with, or setting information so they know what exactly is affecting the output sound.

Results

Future Work

  • Add LCD setting displays
  • Add better LDRs
  • More voices
  • Better Laser

Project Files

Project Charter (link)

System Requirements Specification (link)

Architectural Design Specification (link)

Detailed Design Specification (link)

Poster (link)

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