[sdiy] Emulating keyboard action with magnets; new synthesis method

[nvawter]

Yes, I remember reading a paper on this a long time ago, perhaps even 
around 1996.
I believe it was from Stanford.  They had made a small bank of keys, 
each one with servo actuator and
feedback mechanism.  They were able to emulate several different pianos 
and other systems.
I tried a quick search just now, but I'm at work and can't go in-depth.  
I did find this, which has
some inspiring pictures: 
http://web.stanford.edu/class/me327/lectures/lecture04-sensors_actuators.pdf

There's also other work people have been doing in haptics in the 
high-frequency range like the comb
teeth you mentioned.  My friend is working on one.  You can see the 
group project he's started here:
https://hackaday.io/project/8446-weft-electrovibration-demo-board

It's got some links to some papers at Disney, such as:
http://www.disneyresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/REVEL.pdf    and
http://www.disneyresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/teslatouchuist20101.pdf

Anyway, just because it's been done once or twice doesn't mean it's over 
at all!  This is a humungous
space to explore.  I know I've been spending months trying different 
methods of controlling synthesis
based on FSRs.  The leap from piezo sensor to FSR is humungous.  There 
are so many possibilities and modes
of expression, it drives me crazy.

It would be nice if there were some kind of test platform for this 
stuff.  What would it look like?

Maybe a high-quality servo with a piano key on it and an FSR on the end 
of it...  then connected to some
kind of block-diagram configurable interface like an Axoloti or analog 
modular?

-Noah

On 2016-01-21 18:09, cheater00 . wrote:
> Reading up on the new Nord Piano 3, I was wondering if anyone ever
> tried to emulate the feel of a piano keyboard - how the resistance of
> a key changes depending on the state of the hammer mechanism, by using
> electromagnets or hydraulics.
> 
> Either have electromagnets directly control the height of the key (in
> opposition to the force exerted by your fingers) or use hydraulic
> pistons feeding a reservoir, and have a small transducer constrict the
> flow into and out of the piston (at which point you might even control
> in and out separately).
> 
> In addition to piano keyboards one might emulate all sorts of
> different feels. Say, how it would feel if you were scraping a wooden
> stick across a comb, or the feel of silly putty. This could feed a
> synthesizer model - each physical interaction model could feed a
> different synthesizer model.
> 
> Also you wouldn't necessarily have to have the keys return
> automatically. At which point you might want to think about making the
> keys extend beyond the fulcrum - so that they can be pressed on one
> end to press them inwards, and pressed on the other end in order to
> depress them. For example, for ambient sounds, one might have a sort
> of keyboard action that only very slowly returns the key - and the
> height corresponds to the loudness of the note being played - while
> letting you quickly stop a sound by pressing on the other end of the
> keyboard.
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