Spinning Synth E155 Project
Abstract
The goal of this project was to design an analog style synthesizer with an instrument that makes sound when you spin it, press keys or turn a potentiometer. The project would generate real time audio controlled by a digital gyroscope, keypad, and a potentiometer. The system would produce two independent audio outputs, each corresponding to a distinct sound source. The gyroscope, mounted on a rotating device, determines a baseline sound output to one speaker based on its rotational frequency, while the keypad and potentiometer control the note and pitch of a second, independent sound output to a different speaker.
Our project ended up being a functional prototype of the spinning synth. The 8-key keypad plays a C-major scale directly from the MCU to a speaker, the A3G4250DTR gyroscope is read over SPI, and the MCU uses its ADC to read the 10k Ohm potentiometer.
Project Demo Videos
Keypad digital audio synthesis demonstration:
Potentiometer analog-to-digital converter reading demonstration:
Gyroscope reading demonstration: