Final Project Submission

Lab Report

Source Code

Video

DEMO DAY!

Demo day is here, and RoboUke works pretty well! 

Some glamor shots:

Slave Ukulele

Master Ukulele and mbed

Project Abstract:

 RoboUke
Sam Wolfson and Nick Howarth
Team Fox
RoboUke is a trainable, robotic ukulele system developed on the mbed LPC11u24. The user plays a simple chord progression on the master ukulele, and RoboUke stores the chords and rhythm data, parses it, and then mimics the chord progression on the slave ukulele. In the recording mode, RoboUke uses a microphone to detect when the user strums a chord, and then identifies the chord using pressure sensitive resistors acting as switches on the fretboard of the master ukulele. An LED countdown lets the user know when to start recording, and the recording mode will stop once a strum without a chord identity is detected. In playback mode, the chord data and strum timing is used to control servos on the slave ukulele. The chord progression played during the recording mode is repeated until the user exits playback mode. The slave ukulele uses three servo motors to achieve six possible bar chords (C, D, E, F, G, and A) and another servo to strum the strings. RoboUke is capable of storing chord progressions on different channels, as well as playing back pre-programmed songs. This concept of trainable mechanic actuation has applications in consumer electronics as well as biomedical devices.

Dropbox link to presentation slides:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qgykkgex3rawvmk/fPo9g_LOTJ

So it almost works...

After a couple more sessions in the lab, we have both input and output working. We need to work on the timing a bit, but the chord progression works pretty well. Watch Nick play a simple tune and Robouke's attempt to copy it in the video:

Pressure sensors on ukulele

mbed-Controlled Strumming and Chord Actuation

mbed-Controlled Strumming

Strumming and chord changes

Everything needs to be mounted properly to the ukulele, but the strumming works!