Musical Grasping Training Aid

The Musical Grasping Training Aid is designed to encourage grasping and holding and learn cause and effect. When a user holds the device, it plays music and when the device is not being held, it pauses the music. Users can upload their own music onto a microSD card inside the device and upload new or additional songs when they are no longer motivated by the current selection of songs.

Summary

When powered on, the device will play music when grasped and pause when released.

Power On

To power on the device, flip the switch on the side of the device from OFF to ON.

Setup

After turning on the power switch, wait a few minutes for the device to calibrate. To properly calibrate the device, make sure it is placed in the stand, and it is not being touched.

Musical Grasping

After calibration, the device is ready to be used. The device senses grasp through the copper tape along the tube of the body and will only play music if it is being grasped along this surface. To play the music loaded onto the device, grasp the copper tape activation surface on the device. Note, the device will not play music if it is being grasped by the end caps.

Once the device is no longer held and let go, the music will pause and stop playing. To continue playing music, the user must grasp the device again.

Volume Control

To change the volume of the music being played, press the left button on the side of the device (above the VOL label). The device has six volume levels (5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20), and each press cycles to the next volume setting. When calibrated, the device starts at level 5 and will cycle through the remaining levels. If the volume button is pressed while the device is playing music at the last level, it will restart to play music at the first volume level.

Song Skip

To skip a song, press the right button on the side of the device (above the SKIP label). This will skip to the next song loaded onto the microSD card inside the device. If the skip button is pressed while the last song is played, the device restarts the song list and plays the first song.

This device is intended for usage by people with neurodevelopmental differences and individuals who are trying to learn the concept of cause and effect.

This is an advanced build that requires careful soldering of components to a protoboard and flashing firmware.

This build consists of a number of off-the-shelf electronic components that are soldered onto a protoboard and assembled into a 3D printed enclosure. Firmware is then flashed to the microcontroller.

For full instructions, please refer to the Maker Guide.

CERN OHL-W