Max’s Status Report for 9/30

This week I joined the transcriber team and we worked together to define my role in the team. I will be producing a transcriber that takes in an audio file and returns sheet music for the music in the recording. Given that my original team was broken up at the start of the week, and I was only able to clearly define my role on the team on Wednesday, my work was mostly kept to further researching signal processing for note detection, becoming comfortable with the tools and nature of the transcriber project, and planning how my tool will be folded into the current project. In terms of progress, I am still defining my schedule for my part of the project, but would say that I am on schedule after spending this week transitioning onto the new team. This week I plan to fully finish the design set up for the project for the presentations, and start programming the note detection section.

For the project, 18290 is the only main ECE course that is relevant to my work, so I have been researching pitch detection methods and algorithms extensively over the past few weeks. Through study, I have found multiple methods that can help, which I originally listed in the status reports for my previous team.

Team Status Report for 9/30

This week our team focused on making the design presentation, and nailing down the higher level details in our design. 

On top of the original design with sensors, raspberry pi and data processing on our laptop to create the conversion, we are adding a separate signal processing component into our design with the addition of a team member. The signal processing component will work parallel to the sensor approach to collect data, and is expected to generate the same work eventually on the sheet music to cross validate the results we obtained from the sensor and data processing. 

We made some decisions on the details on what we are going to do with the raspberry pi to connect the sensor data output, convert them to computer readable format. With reading the datasheet and manufacturing notes on the raspberry pi we obtained we filled in some of the details on what I2C protocol we are going to be using in our design. We also started the schematic and chose components for our data collection PCB that we will order next week.

At the same time, we also started digging through the existing API connection for the open source repository we are going to use to generate the sheet music, MuseScore.

List of ECE courses that are relevant to our project: 18349 embedded system18320 Microelectronic Circuits, 18290 Signals and Systems, 18370 Fundamentals of Control, 18213 Introduction to Computer Systems, 10301 Introduction to Machine Learning

Jeannie’s Status Report for 9/30

At the start of this week I placed an order for the two thin film pressure sensors we hope to use for our key press detection. This week I also created the schematic for the sensor data collection board in Altium and researched appropriate components for the PCB, including ADC IC’s, switches, buttons, etc. I imported the parts into the schematic and started putting together the power, I2C, and sensor schematics. I also hope to add a microphone to record the music being played so that Max can take the output and perform some signal processing for his portion of the project. Over the course of the next week I will finish the schematics, finish the layout, ask Vikram to review the board before sending it out for fabrication. Overall, I am still on track.

Sherry’s Status Report for 09/30

This week we focused on completing the design presentation as well as nail down some of the details in the design.
I completed the Use Case/Application/Design Requirement, Test, Verification and Validation slides as well as the software data processing side and the software components of the block diagram in the presentation.
I also forked the open source repo MuseScore and started looking at how the different files in the repository works together and where we can add our implementation into the repo. 

Team Status Report for 9/23

What are the most significant risks that could jeopardize the success of the project? How are these risks being managed? What contingency plans are ready?

The most challenging aspect of our project will be integrating the hardware and software components of the device. We need the sensor data collection PCB to transmit data in a format and at a rate that the Raspberry Pi will be able to receive, decode, and transmit that data to our API to be displayed on the screen. We will mitigate these risks by unit testing all systems before attempting to integrate them together in the hopes of simplifying communication issues we run into. Additionally, from the hardware side one risk is the sensitivity and reliability of the sensors we choose. The sensors are responsible for detecting the musician’s playing, and are integral to the device. In order to mitigate the sensor risk, Jeannie will order a handful of sample sensors and test the sensitivity and reliability as best as she can before deciding which one the team will use.

Were any changes made to the existing design of the system? Provide an updated schedule if changes have occurred.

There were not any changes made to the existing design of the system and no changes to the schedule were made

Weekly Report Question (Team):

ABET #2 says … consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors…. Which of these factors did your team consider as you developed your project proposal ? Identify at least one factor of importance to your project and write a sentence explaining why it is important to consider it. 

In developing our project, a real-time tool that transcribes music played on a keyboard into sheet music, we recognized the profound cultural implications it carries. Music, a universal language, has held immense significance in diverse cultures throughout history. As we brainstormed project ideas, we saw the potential for our tool to contribute to the preservation and evolution of various musical cultures worldwide. By simplifying the music creation process, our project aims to democratize musical expression, empowering individuals to contribute to their musical heritage and foster cultural richness.

Although many music transcription tools exist, many require the user to use an electric keyboard with a MIDI interface or even use a completely virtual computer. One must consider the professional musician, many of whom have access to and prefer non-electric keyboards such as grand pianos. The way our project aims to make writing music universally accessible is by transcribing music using virtual sensors instead. In this way, professional pianists also have access to an invaluable transcription tool. 

Our tool bridges the gap between technology and creativity, making musical composition accessible to a broader audience. As we considered the societal impact, we envisioned a future where people from different walks of life can effortlessly translate their musical ideas into tangible sheet music. This innovation not only promotes inclusivity in the musical realm but also celebrates the richness and diversity of musical traditions globally. By nurturing creativity and easing the musical composition process, our project aspires to be a catalyst for a new era of cultural enrichment through music.

Jeannie’s Status Report for 9/23

This week I finalized the proposal presentation with my group members, including contributing to the Project Use Case, Use-Case Requirements, Technical Challenges, Solution Approach, Testing Verification and Metrics, as well as the Tasks and Division of Labor slides. In this process I did extensive research into pressure sensors to decide the type of pressure sensor which would be most viable for our application. I believe thin film pressure sensors would lead to the most pleasant experience for the user and will proceed in ordering some samples this week. Pressure sensor link: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9673?fbclid=IwAR33LClFtByqihlfUjDPA5NymQegm7RqwVQsHe6o9civ22HqjynT8pw_yF8

I believe my progress is on schedule, and will spend time this week creating a first draft of the initial sensor data PCB schematic and ordering the pressure sensor samples to finalize the hardware implementation.

Sherry’s Status Report for 09/23

This week, I accomplished the Project Use Case, Use Case Requirement, software component of the technical challenge, and the solution approach for the project proposal presentation. Additionally, I conducted comprehensive background research on the API intended for sheet music generation. We have narrowed down our search to two primary APIs: MuseScore and Flat (links provided below). Presently, MuseScore appears to be the more feasible choice as it offers an efficient method for generating sheet music. However, as we have yet to construct the interface, uncertainties regarding potential issues tied to its utilization may arise in the future.
https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/blob/3.x/mscore/osc.cpp#L81-L92

https://flat.io/developers
we are currently on schedule for the project, next week we are hoping to have a more concrete plan on how we are going to implement the project and hopefully put in some parts order.