Tapdancing

[bill]

Hello  ;D

I would like to get your ideas on that point :

I plan to midify a pair of shoes, and trig some fun with dancing...

What i'm looking for is some way to capture the shocks or moves.

I dont have a precise idea, and i have lots of trys to do, but discussing help.

I've thought of drumsensors (dont know their name, nor the price)

mics,

mercure switches,

micro switches...

perfect ones would be 'flat' (ruban) pressure sensors, but i dont if they exist, and where i'm supposed to find them.

Please give me you points of view and ideas !! :)

[SLP]

Where are those smilies which bang their head against a wall?

That's really crazy!

http://www1.conrad.de/scripts/wgate/zcop_b2c/~flNlc3Npb249UDkwV0dBVEU6Q19BR0FURTA2OjAwMDAuMDJjMS43MjY3NWU2MiZ+aHR0cF9jb250ZW50X2NoYXJzZXQ9aXNvLTg4NTktMSZ+U3RhdGU9NDk4NDQ1MzQ0====?~template=PCAT_AREA_S_BROWSE&mfhelp=&p_selected_area=%24ROOT&p_selected_area_fh=&perform_special_action=&glb_user_js=Y&shop=B2C&vgl_artikel_in_index=&product_show_id=&p_page_to_display=DirektSearch&~cookies=1&zhmmh_lfo=&zhmmh_area_kz=&s_haupt_kategorie=&p_searchstring=Drucksensor&p_searchstring_artnr=&p_search_category=alle&r3_matn=&insert_kz=&area_s_url=&brand=&amount=&new_item_quantity=&area_url=&direkt_aufriss_area=&p_countdown=&p_80=&p_80_category=&p_80_article=&p_next_template_after_login=&mindestbestellwert=&login=&password=&bpemail=&bpid=&url=&show_wk=&use_search=3&p_back_template=&template=&titel=&darsteller=&regisseur=&anbieter=&genre=&fsk=&jahr=&jahr2=&dvd_error=X&dvd_empty_error=X&dvd_year_error=&call_dvd=&kna_news=&p_status_scenario=&documentselector=&aktiv=&p_load_area=$ROOT&p_artikelbilder_mode=&p_sortopt=&page=&p_catalog_max_results=10

this would be a self-adhesive flat pressure sensor. unfortnuately the max pressure is 10kg. just google a bit, I'm sure there are other ones available.

drumsensors are working with piezo-ceramic elements (i don't know their english name).

what about accelerating sensors (ger: Beschleunigungssensoren)?

good luck!

matthias

[stryd_one]

Good news, my g/f is a tap dancer :) (actually I've done a few classes myself but don't tell. I'm no Fred Astaire ;) ) I will ask her all about the movements and figure out what electronics we need ....

[jimhenry]

Perhaps you could work out something that would pick up the tap sound and use that to trigger the MIDI. Trying to get something on the dancer is not going to be easy.

[MRE]

you could try those thin metal piezo speakers they often use in hand held cheap video games made by Tiger and others. The are a thin brass round disk with a white paper coating on one side. down in there is a tiny piezo element.

Normally used as a speaker, if you hook it to a volt meter and tap it, you get a signal just like any other speaker/mic. Op-amp should clean it up.

[stryd_one]

A few quick thoughts while I wait for a script to run...

There's more than one kind of 'tap', so not only do you need to figure out how hard the tap is being pushed (pressure), but also how fast it is moving and in what direction (velocity), and how long it comes into contact with the floor (traction).... And of course these need to be monitored constantly, for EG if you stomp your foot down and then flick it away, will sound different to stomping, lifting, and then flicking your foot out....

At the moment, I reckon the best (easiest) way to do this will be switches and accelerometers on the shoes....

Oh Mattias, we call them Piezo too :) (often called piezo 'buzzers' in English-speaking stores)

Edit: like MRE said :)

[SLP]

what about accelerating sensors (ger: Beschleunigungssensoren)?

accelerometers

that's the word i was looking for.

another idea would be a black-white-floor and a LDR or a infrared sensor (?).

So you can detect the movement of the shoe on the floor and you can calculate the speed.

I've heard that in those Robot-soccer-championships the floor is white on one side and black on the opposite side. In the middle it's a grey which gets darker or whiter... 

oh, c'mon, you know what I mean.

I'll look for a photo.

well, and the Robots have a sensor which detects the "brightness" of the ground.

but I think It'll be a bit difficult to paint the whole floor black and white.

matthias

[audiocommander]

If you want to build a cheap low-tech solution, there are also non-contact  switches. They got two feathers inside and only close the circuit if you shake them ("Rüttelkontaktschalter" jogswitches ???). They are cheap, lightweight, nearly undestroyable and by mounting some of them in different directions, I think it might be possible to get some interesting data out of it...

Cheers,

Michael

[stryd_one]

Nice idea!