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Physiological Metronome. Adam Pala, Ben Fleming, Cole Drifka , Jeff Theisen. Clients: Dr. Bill Fahl, Dept. of Oncology Vanessa Young, Carnegie Mellon music student Advisor: Dr. Paul Thompson, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering. Background. Metronomes provide time or rhythm to musicians
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Physiological Metronome Adam Pala, Ben Fleming, Cole Drifka, Jeff Theisen Clients: Dr. Bill Fahl, Dept. of Oncology Vanessa Young, Carnegie Mellon music student Advisor: Dr. Paul Thompson, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering
Background • Metronomes provide time or rhythm to musicians • Currently metronome features include: • LCD display • Mechanical and electronic timing mechanisms • Beats which are audible and/or tactile • Analog and digital user outputs
Design Motivation • The motivation for our design comes from Vanessa Young, a music student at Carnegie Mellon • Conventional visual and audio metronomes tend to be distracting • Currently there is no adequate device on the market which functions as a metronome and uses a precise tactile pulse as the stimulus • Such a metronome would allow the user to “internalize” the beat of the music
Client Requirements and Design Constraints • The client requires the following for the metronome device: • Maintain the tempo in an inaudible and accurate manner • Cover a tempo range of 40 to 260 bpm (beats per minute) • Should not attach to parts of the body involved in playing the instrument (i.e. forearm or wrist)
“Constant/Permanent” Features of the Design • The circuit (with slight modifications) Original: http://electroschematics.com/216/electronic-metronome-circuit-schematic/
“Constant/Permanent” Features of the Design • The case http://www.hammondmfg.com/pdf/1593P.pdf
Design Aspect: What is the form of tactile stimulus? Options: • Vibration • Compression • Shock • Tap
Option: Vibration • One option for the tactile stimulus would be a vibration, similar to that felt on a phone • Vibration would be produced by an electric motor • Pro • The user would likely have no trouble feeling the vibration • Con • Ability to differentiate between successive vibrations may be difficult at high tempos
Option: Compression • Another possible option for the stimulus would be a band around the arm, leg, or lower back which “squeezed” the user to the selected beat • The compression would be produced by a solenoid which shortened the band for each beat • Pro • Comfort • Con • Uniform compression may be difficult to achieve • Complicated construction
Option: Shock • A small shock could be provided to the user to represent the beat or time of the music • There are several problems with this option including user safety, variability in shock based on user skin conditions (e.g. sweating), and user comfort
Option: Tap • The tactile stimulus could be a mechanical tap • Generated from a solenoid directly in contact with the body • Pro • Good resolution at high tempos • Con • Size of solenoid
Design Aspect: Where to locate the tactile stimulus? Options: • Upper Arm • Lower Back • Ear
Option: Upper Arm • I-Pod elastic docking band • Pros • Ease of attachment • User comfort • Cons • Interference with musical performance • Tactile discrimination
Option: Lower Back • “Anchoring-Cap” idea • Adhesive padding ring • Cylindrical solenoid firmly positioned in durable plastic cap • Pros • Immobilized • Visually concealed • Cons • Need to replace adhesive • Possibility of discomfort due to sitting • Tactile discrimination a question “Anchoring-Cap” as a means to secure the tactile transducer to the lower back.
Option: Ear Attachment • Ear clip, ear-formed adapter, or behind the ear designs • Pros • Most proximal to audible processing center to internalize tempo • Most sensory discrimination relative to arm back • Cons: • User specificity • Stability Tactile transducer attached behind ear lobe. Tactile transducer embedded in a form-fitting material.
Design Aspect: How to attach the tactile transducer? Options: • Adhesive • Elastic • Form-fitting
Option: Adhesive Pros Conforms to body shape Secure attachment Cons Adhesive will wear out Uncomfortable to remove
Option: Elastic Pros Secure attachment Variety of options available Cons May not work for all locations
Option: Form-Fitting Pros Conforms to body shape Cons Not as secure Possibly difficult to construct
Design Aspect: How to design the user interface? Options: • Knob/LCD display • Buttons/LCD display • Knob/Tick Marks
Option:Knob/LCD Display • Pros • User friendly • More precise/accurate display • Cons • Difficult to design and construct commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Potentiometer.jpg detail.en.china.cn/provide/detail,1078195290.html
Option: Buttons/LCD Display • Pros • Very user friendly • More precise/accurate display • Cons • Very difficult to design and construct detail.en.china.cn/provide/detail,1078195290.html http://www.bigfoto.com/sites/galery/closeup1/digital-camera-buttons.jpg
Option: Knob/ Tick Marks • Pros • Easiest to construct • Most cost-effective option • Cons • Least accurate/precise option commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Potentiometer.jpg http://www.telerik.com/help/wpf/images/RadialScaleTickMarks-Desc.png
Final Design Summary • Case contains protruding knob/potentiometer • Tick marks indicate tempo (aligned with knob) • Case outputs to tactile stimulus via an output jack • Tactile stimulus attaches to user in ear-specific manner, delivers tempo
Ethical Considerations • Device is intended for human users • Safety is a must • Long duration of use • Tactile device must be safe for continuous use • Tactile stimulus concerns
Future Work • Construction • Testing: • Compare musicians using tactile metronome to visual and audio metronomes • Determine if resolution changes with excessive background sound • More user-friendly interface • Programmable tempos • Bluetooth synchronization among multiple users
Acknowledgments • We would like to thank: • Dr. Bill Fahl, client • Vanessa Young, client • Dr. Paul Thompson, advisor • Amit Nimunkar, electronics assistance