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Symbiotic Synth
A self-sufficient audio biofeedback device
The Symbiotic Synth is a low voltage oscillator that is powered as well as controlled by the human body.
It was designed by Wolfgang Spahn. It was first introduced at the exhibition and workshop I, Machine, and Energy Harvesting by Mindaugas Gapševičius and Wolfgang Spahn as part of the exhibition Shared Habitats in MO Museum, Vilnius, Lithuania in May 2019.
The Symbiotic Synth uses as the only power source the body temperature and drives with that an electric oscillator. The difference of the body to the environment temperature can generates some millivolt - the Seebeck effect. With some tricks and High Tech, the LTC 3108 one can convert that small amount of energy into some decent voltage and an astable multivibrator can be powered with that. It will oscillate in a audible range depending on the setting of the potentiometer. And because the headphone are actually part of the oscillation circuit one can listen to the sound, too.
In attaching some light and temperature depending resistors to the circuit one can have variations of the sound based on the human body and its functions. The generated sound will change depending on breath, heart beat, skin resistance and body temperature.
With all that both is possible to power and to modulate a synthesizer with the own human body. And because the generated sound will stimulate the body function, too, the Symbiotic Synth can be called an self-sufficient audio biofeedback device.
Schematic
Paper PCB
Parts
- Resistors:
- 3x 22 kOhm
- Capacitors:
- 1x 330 pF
- 1x 1 nF
- 2x 22nF
- 1x 1 μF
- 2x 220 μF
- Diodes:
- 1x low current LED
- Semiconductors:
- 2x BC547 transistor
- 1x LTC3108 DC DC converter
- Mechanical:
- 2x adapter board SSOP 16pin
- 2x 8 pin strip
- 1x 2pin strip
- 2x pin header, female 1×2
- 1x jumpers
- 1x mini switch
- 2x mono mini jack socket
- Potentiometers:
- 1x 100 kOhm
- Miscellaneous:
- 1x Peltier element
- 1x cooler
- 1x airplane headphones
LTC 3108 module
In the Symbiotic Synth the LTC3108 and a transformer together with some capacitors are build in.
This part of the circuit has the same functions like this LTC3108 module:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Body-heat-energy-harvesting-device/332328658257
Two Power Outputs:
Vout1 with selectable voltage and Vout2 which follows Vout1 in terms of voltage level.
Jumper Setting:
1+3 Vout = 5V 1+4 Vout = 4.1V 2+3 Vout = 3.3V 2+4 Vout = 2.35V
Pinout:
S - additional storage element V1 - Vout1, up to 5mA of output current V2 - Vout2, up to 300mA output current L - LDO G - Ground\\
Links
All contents are Copyright © 2019 by Wolfgang Spahn. All rights reserved.