The Artemis Synthesizer is a basic 12-bit resolution synthesizer which has an output sample rate of 22kHz.
Internally, the synthesizer generates sound using a predetermined wave table, which can be changed and recalculated if desired. By default, the wave table contains a sine wave with 256 steps, but harmonic sound data can be programmed into the synth kit using our web interface.
The synthesizer contains two interactive modes and one mode for the optical communication link. These modes are: a keyboard mode, which contains 4 scales (C major, C pentatonic, C blues and C minor) and has 8 available keys; and a sequencer mode, which can hold eight 8-step by 8-note sequences. In sequencer mode, new sequences can be entered from the web interface.
The synthesizer was developed as part of a summer program for female rising high school freshmen.
via hackaday
this is great
there’s some nice concepts here, I especially like the optical programming, very clever idea! could become something really interesting if they work on it some more
From my experience from the optical programming of the original Lego NXT robotics stuff in a lab I can tell you that it’s quite frustrating to work with. The great thing about ISP as opposed to burning an EEPROM is that you can really see the changes you made in action in less than 2 seconds without having to physically move your board. Also, holding it still in front of a monitor for an extended period of time not only tires your arm easily but also prevents you from being able to keep on programming while the download runs and the system boots up. It’s probably OK for very patient people who don’t know that there is anything better.