The original theremin is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the thereminist (performer). It is named after the Westernized name of its Soviet inventor, Léon Theremin (Термéн), who patented the device in 1928*. Most Theremins are controlled by two metal antennas that sense the relative position of the thereminist’s hands and generate electric signals that are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker.
This Maker-inspired version of the theremin is based on the Raspberry Pi computing platform and utilizes basic image processing algorithms to generate various tones through its on board audio jack. For step by step instructions on how to create this project, check out https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/58428-creating-a-visual-theremin-using-raspberry-pi-and-simulink
Summary of Functionality:
This project will:
- Mark the centroid of a green object with red crosshairs on the live stream from your Pi camera
- Generate sound through the Raspberry Pi’s audio jack
- Change the frequency and gain of the audio based upon the x and y coordinates of the green object on the screen
* – Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theremin