*This blog originally posted on Think.Innovate. See the original post here.
Making music almost always involves putting hands to strings or brass or keys. We sit at the piano and play chopsticks or pick up a guitar and strum the G cord as easily as grabbing a fork to eat. But how can those who struggle with something like using utensils at the dinner table make their own music?
The answer to that question is what inspired the Seven Deadly Synths: A non-contact synthesizer, the winner of the 2015 Texas Instruments Innovation Challenge (TIIC) North America Design Contest. The young engineers behind the project are Troy Bryant and Sean Lyons from the University of Florida.
“We’ve always been very passionate about music,” said Troy. “We both play instruments so we knew going into electrical engineering, there were many audio applications, and they excited us.”
They turned that excitement and passion into a worthwhile project for disabled musicians who lack the fine motor skills most instruments require.
“We have friends, and parents of friends, who have dealt with arthritis, stroke or Multiple Sclerosis. Suddenly, so much is taken away from them, including the ability to make music,” Sean said. “We wanted to find a dynamic new way to create music and solve a problem at the same time.”
Keep reading this article in its entirety here.
