Range finder musical toy - Hack a Day

Range finder musical toy

posted Feb 13th 2011 11:03am by Mike Nathan
filed under: arduino hacks, musical hacks

Instructables user [sketchsk3tch] was looking to make a fun toy for his kids using things he had around the house and came up with the Ping Organ. The organ is played by standing in front of the Parallax Ping range sensor, and moving around any which way you please. He interfaced the range sensor with an Arduino, scavenging a small speaker from an old toy for audio output.

The code for the project is fairly straightforward, borrowing most of it from the demo software that shipped with the Ping and the Arduino. He made a few small tweaks in order to get the organ to play frequencies of actual notes, as well as to allow for some flexibility when calculating the specific note to play.

While not the most complex project we have ever featured, [sketchsk3tch] reports that his kids love to spend time flailing around wildly in front of the organ, which is exactly what he intended.
Video of the organ being tested after the break.

Ping Organ

Video Link...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F4xoe1rQMs&feature=player_embedded

tagged: arduino, music, Parallax Ping

Go there...
http://hackaday.com/2011/02/13/range-finder-musical-toy/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+hackaday%2FLgoM+%28Hack+a+Day%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

Range finder musical toy

Range finder musical toy - Hack a Day

Ping Organ

YouTube - Ping Organ

Looks like this Toy could have a real future. I think he could actually make some money with it, if it was developed and sold. Especially with improved sound. And for me... something allot different than that typical buzzing sound. Like Guitar or even Keyboard Sounds for those less Rock Oriented... The kids look like they could dance for hours playing with that thing. I think it could encourage dance - exercise, musical sensitivity, creation and grow musical ability's in Children. Which can lead to other types of Creativity and Learning. This could be a Toy with more to offer than just fun:) Great Invention!:)

Don