Disco Board Project
Contents
Project Members
Project Motivation
To bring back the funk.
Project Overview
The intent of the Disco Board Project is to construct a device that will synchronize the flashing of lights with peaks in certain frequency ranges in a waveform; namely, components of the beat in songs. This will be accomplished using a real-time processing component of MATLAB coupled to a series of relay switches. The MATLAB component (specifically, the audio processing toolkit in SimuLink) will read input from a computer port (most likely a microphone in or line in). It will apply a series of bandpass filters to the input data; the frequency ranges that are "passed" will be chosen such that they encapsulate the relevant parts of the input. In the case of a song, these would be frequency ranges corresponding to the kick drum, snare drum and hi-hat. The output of the bandpass filters will then be evaluated as an absolute value (giving the magnitude of the signal) and then smoothed with a low-pass filter. An IF statement will then determine if the magnitude of the signal has exceeded a prescribed value; when it does, the program will send a signal to a relay and a light will flash. If all components work as described above, the user should be able to notice a clear correlation between the beats of their song and the flash-pattern of the lights, and will have some pretty bitchin' lighting for their next party.
(Put block diagram here, as well as (eventually) scanned copies of notes)
Required Materials
4 - 120v AC Relays - available from Ed Jaoudi
4 - Female 120v AC sockets, grounded, surface-mountable
4 - 470Ω resistors
4 - 2v LEDs
1 - Terminal block, 16- to 22-ga. wire
1 - Male 120v AC extension cord, grounded
Contingent on method of interface between computer and relays:
- Method of interface - must be able to accept data from USB or serial, send 3.7 to 32v DC
- Appropriate wiring to connect interface to relays
Expected Timeline
Week of 11/17: Preliminary Planning
Week of 11/24: Have basic skeleton of program completed
- Audio input set up
- Bandpass & lowpass filters understood & configured
- Preliminary testing - non-real time, use signal generator if necessary
Week of 12/1: Convert to Real-time Processing, Construct Relay Board
- Figure out method of running Relay Board
Weekend of 12/6: Test & debug until day of presentation
