Project Overview
The idea is to create peripheral augmentations to MIT Sigma Alpha Epsilon's long-untouched grand piano in the library. This project aims to breathe new life into the piano by developing:
- A piano-playing automaton: A mechanical device that wraps over the keys to play the piano autonomously.
- An LED panel: Positioned over the piano cover, this panel will animate notes in real-time (similar to YouTube piano tutorials). It will also track a player's performance by comparing played notes to intended notes, much like Guitar Hero but with 88 keys.
- A light show: Using music processing, the piano will feature dynamic lighting effects that complement the music being played.
This project combines mechanical design, electronics, and programming to enhance the piano experience for both performers and audiences.
Project Status
The current progress on the project is as follows:
- Piano-playing automaton: The solenoid-based "Keyboard Kover" prototype has been successfully tested. Further development is needed to scale this to 88 actuators and integrate the mechanism with software for complex compositions.
- LED panel: Initial work on an 88-LED MIDI player was completed in Week 3. The next steps involve designing a larger, higher-resolution LED panel that can display dynamic note animations and performance scores.
- Light show: Preliminary ideas involve using FFT-based audio analysis for real-time music visualization. No physical prototypes have been made yet.
Next Steps
To move the project forward, the following steps are planned:
- Design a scalable solenoid system capable of handling 88 keys, including hardware and software integration.
- Develop an efficient control system for the LED panel, possibly using ESP32 or Raspberry Pi for real-time animations.
- Prototype the music-processing light show using existing FFT libraries and explore hardware options for dynamic lighting.