Document Type

Restricted Campus Only

Publication Date

3-2011

Abstract

The digital training guitar is intended to be an intermediate step between video game controllers such as the Guitar Hero guitar and a real guitar. It is meant both to facilitate learning of basic guitar techniques and to reduce some of the common frustrations faced by people just learning the guitar.

The guitar consists of three major subsystems: the neck, the body, and the control system. As designed, the neck consists of touch sensitive pads to replace the strings and frets and LEDs to provide user instruction for finger placement. The body consists of metal rods connected to force sensors which send analog signals to THE microcontroller. Two LEDs are placed on the body to teach strumming patterns. The control system of the guitar consists of the microcontroller and the MIDI synthesizer, which are responsible for controlling the guitar and producing sound, respectively. An interactive user menu allows for a choice between freeplay mode, chord training mode, and strum training mode; within each training mode, the user can choose between different chords and strumming patterns.

Testing was conducted separately for each subsystem, and then the guitar was assembled as a whole. The body testing confirn1ed the functionality of the force sensing resistors and determined the ideal calibration, including choosing the optimal resistors in order to help the microcontroller to perform AID conversion. Testing of the neck by the creation of a prototype printed circuit board (PCB) revealed that touch sensor detection worked as anticipated. For the final neck design, the LEDs were controlled using the microcontroller, and worked as expected. The touch sensors for the final neck PCB failed to work, though, due to difficulties soldering the touch sensor integrated circuits (ICs) to the PCB. Testing of freeplay mode and chord training mode showed that the code worked, but had delay produced by print statements in the code; when the print statements were removed, the code would not function as expected.

The final weight of the guitar is approximately 3 lbs, and the estimated reproduction cost is $93, both of which meet the design constraints set forth for the project. The voltage change produced by the force sensor resistors was enough to produce sound through the AID conversion from the microcontroller, but some calibration issues arose from the adjustable nature of the body prototype. Chord training mode and freeplay mode both work, but with more work on the code, both could be optimized to work better, and with a modified PCB design, the neck could be fully functional and integrated.

Comments

Advisor: Dr. Joshua Schwartz

ENGR - 4381

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