These new devices let you create music by waving your hands in the air. The sensor sticks can detect the position and velocity of your hands as they move in front of them.
Airheads work as a standard MIDI controller, you can connect them to most synthesizers or even a drum machine, so you can play some serious air drums. (Assuming you don’t mind gesticulating wildly when you’re playing your tunes.)
Each Airheads controller uses an array of LEDs paired up with infrared sensors to work its auditory magic.
Click to View Embedded Video Clip
A starter kit (soldering and assembly required), including a single Airheads controller and all necessary parts and cables is available from MakerSHED for $99.95 (USD). You can check out more videos of Airheads in action over on Flickr.
Written by technabob on December 3rd, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Feeling musically inclined, but haven’t the time or knowledge to write sheet music? Now you can produce your own sonic creations simply by doodling on a piece of paper.
Designed by Adafruit (in collaboration with Jay Silver), Drawdio is an analog synthesizer circuit that straps to any soft-leaded pencil, and lets you crank out electronic sounds while you sketch. The kit takes advantage of the conductive properties of the graphite in the pencil lead, and produces a veritable cacophony of sounds as you put pencil to paper.
Click to View Embedded Video Clip
So maybe you can’t call those otherworldly bleeps, beeps and squeaks “music”, but with enough practice you might be able to carry a basic tune… or you could give one of these a try the next time you have to fill in all those perfect little circles on your SAT or GMAT exam. I’m sure the test administrator would love that.
Adafruit sells the Drawdio kit for $19.50 (USD), including the circuit board, all necessary hardware and a 2B pencil. You’ll need basic soldering skills to put Drawdio together, so don’t expect it to work without some experience building electronic kits.
Written by technabob on December 2nd, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Audio and Technology and adafruit and analog and cool toys and draw and drawdio and electronic music and kit and pencil and sound and synthesizer and write.
Here’s something for people who want some boom outside of their boom - I mean room. Landport’s cube speakers are so tiny, calling them ultra-portable would be an understatement. I say they’re ultra-losable. Measuring just 26 mm x 26 mm x 26 mm (appx. 1″), these 0.8 watt speakers are smaller than an iPod shuffle.
The speakers whisper boom for 4 to 5 hours, after which you can charge them via USB. If you still have them, that is, and have not mistaken them for candy. They’ll be out by next week in Japan. Where weird shit comes from. If they come up with a widescreen HDTV that can fit on a nostril I wouldn’t be surprised. But I would be interested.
[via Slash Gear]
Written by lambert v. on November 30th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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While you could fill your salad bowl with lettuce, tomatoes, bacon bits and honey dijon dressing, that would be pretty boring. Personally, I prefer my salads to be made from anodized aluminum, magnets, and wire. Yum.
UK modder HoopsOnToast was shopping at his local IKEA store when he realized the potential to make some nifty orb-shaped speakers by gluing together pairs of 8″ Blanda Matt solid birch hardwood bowls.
The speakers get their sweet sound from a pair of full range (100Hz - 20kHz) Bandor 50mm drivers, mounted into the sliced-off face of one of the bowls.
Word is that the cabinets sound simply brilliant, and they only took about 3 hours to put together. And since IKEA offers the bowls in multiple sizes, you could build a full surround sound system using these (front speakers in the 8″ bowls, surrounds in the 5″ bowls, and subwoofer in the 11″ bowls).
…croutons not included.
[HiFi WigWam via IKEA Hacker]
Written by technabob on November 28th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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If you haven’t already gotten your turkey for tonight’s Thanksgiving festivities, it’s probably too late for you. Unless, of course, you plan on catching your own bird.
This Cass Creek electronic turkey call is sure to attract the elusive birds as it cranks out digitized samples of real turkeys. The loudspeaker can produce a variety of authentic bird sounds including clucks, yelps, “kee-kees”, an assembly call, and even a purr. Who knew that turkeys purred? Sounds like you might end up attracting a few neighborhood alley cats if you press that button too often.
While it’s designed for hunting turkeys, I think it might be just as fun to walk around the your neighborhood grocery store with one of these, occasionally mashing on the buttons as customers grab up their frozen Butterballs and canned yams. (I think I know what I’m doing next Thanksgiving.)
Written by technabob on November 27th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Nope, this wild glowy sphere isn’t some sort of newfangled plasma weapon. Actually, what you’re looking at is a combination speaker/light show that’s perfect for your next big dance party.
Inside the transparent red plastic orb of the Zumreed Flash Beat is a downward-firing speaker, surrounded by a rapidly spinning pink light. As your tunes kick in, the light reacts instantaneously to the beat of the music.
And even though it’s under 9-inches tall, it’s powerful enough to fill a large room according to the product description (Caveat Emptor, of course). Just connect the speaker to your iPod or even a video game system, and you’ll have yourself a self-contained audiovisual extravaganza.
Originally available only in Japan, the guys over at Audiocubes have brought in a limited number of these for you to enjoy stateside for $189.99 each.
Written by technabob on November 17th, 2008 with no comments.
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Stuffed animal lovers, here’s a new portable audio setup that’s perfect for you - assuming that your animal of choice happens to be a faceless shiny bear, that is.
Made by Hirokawa Japan, Tuned Bear is a complete sound system for your media player, stuffed inside a teddy bear. Sound comes from a pair of stereo speakers hidden in the bear’s feet (and powered by a battery pack in his butt).
To turn on the bear, press his left ear. And to adjust the volume, simple grab the appropriately marked paw. Luckily this bear won’t rip your face off you when you squeeze his nubby appendages.
For the moment, Tuned Bears are only available in Japan (the same nation where you can also find this). If you happen to speak Japanese, you can find them over at Rakuten’s Plywood store for ¥3780 (appx. $39 USD).
I can pretty much guarantee you won’t find one of these at your local Build-A-Bear Workshop.
Written by technabob on November 17th, 2008 with no comments.
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Want to share your music when you’re out and about? Sure, you could ask your friends to try on your crusty headphones, or you could reach into your pocket and pull out a pair of these tiny speakers.
XPod Active Sound speakers could be the smallest portable speakers I’ve seen yet. Measuring in at just 3.07″ wide x 1.34″ high x 0.33″ thick (78mm x 34mm x 8.4mm), they’re about the same size as the latest iPod Nano.
The miniature speakers offer stereo sound using a pair of tiny piezoelectric speakers powered by a 2-channel 770mW amplifier.
The Xpod has a built-in rechargeable power pack, which can be juiced up via any USB port, so you don’t have to worry about carrying batteries. A tiny slot in the back lets you stand up the speaker using your pocket change, and each Xpod comes with a matching cord so you can hang it around your neck.
The pocket-size XPod speakers are currently available only in Korea. There’s no word on if or when they’ll hit other countries.
Written by technabob on November 14th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Audio and Gadgets and Media Players and Speakers and mobile tech and portable and small and sound and tiny and xpod.
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