Why the Kalimba?
We are all people who are very interested in music, but with a bit of university laziness, we wanted to automate the process of playing the Kalimba - an instrument very near and dear to our hearts.
Project Description
The project is primarily split into hardware and software components. The hardware component includes the creation of a CNC-inspired device that will be able to move in the x and y direction in order to arrive at any point on the Kalimba to press the keys. The software component takes in the notes and spits out the corresponding motor motions that will allow the entire system to arrive on top of the corresponding tab, before actuating the hammer in order to hit the key and immediately flick the key.
Difficulties
The project encountered many difficulties along the way including the servos only moving 180 degrees which required us to mathematically compute how much linear motion half a rotation could generate and CAD our gears respectively. Another difficulty we faced was the servos not being able to actuate very small degrees which we corrected by overshooting the servo and then readjusting back to the tab we wanted.
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