Technical Design

For this week, we finally finished our last technical design. We switched out the original 9 volt battery, in order to avoid using resistors, and keep a simple design. Mallots will be attached to each servo or actuator, in order to produce the sound on the Xylophone. We will do this by programming the servos to turn down to hit the Xylophone in the style of "Carol of the Bells."

All the components will be powered through two AA batteries, because the max voltage most servos could get is about 5v. Our original 9v would not have worked with most servos without a resistor, thus we decided to change what voltage we would us.

The musical range of the is within 5 notes: the highest being G to our lowest being C.

Design

This is our basic Arduino design. From this, we will attached mallots to the servos and program them to play "Carol of the Bells."

Project Overview

        Following suit of the Harry Potter Robot Orchestra at Drexel University, a new module of Engineering Design has focused on freshmen creating self-playing instruments from Arduinos, servos, and various instruments.
        From this project, students will learn to work together as a team, while developing key skills that they will need in the future, including:

• Attention to detail
• Basic coding
• Communication skills
• Etc. 

        For our team, we will be making an Arduino power three-four servos at once, in order to to play "Carol of the Bells" on the Xylophone. Some of the hardest challenges will be timing and positioning.

Who we are?

(From left to right: Maggie Mulhern, Arianna Rivera, and Siobhan Montenegro)

Maggie Mulhern is studying to become a mechanical engineer at Drexel University! As a Philadelphia native, she enjoys the urban campus that is close to home. Right now, she is involved with Robotics Club and the "Dancing with Drones" project at Drexel's ExCITe Center. In the future, she plans to take on more research opportunities and to apply to the accelerated program for her master's degree.


Arianna Rivera is from the nearby town of Cherry Hill, and is planning on being a Materials Science Engineer. While most of the ExCITe Engineering Learning Community are closely associated with art, Arianna plays violin, piano, and guitar. On top of that, she is a hardworking and diligent student, who plans to use her degree to minimize pollution and help the environment.

Siobhan Montenegro is the type of person, who knows what she wants and goes for it! Without a doubt, Siobhan is studying in hopes to become a Neurochemical Engineer, but she wants to get her bachelor's degree in Mathmatics first. With this advanced degree, she plans to discover the many mysteries of the mind