Theremin Hero - Final Projects for ECE

The Theremin Hero game unit emulates the experience of Rock BandTM and Guitar HeroTM by enabling users to play a selection of famous songs via a hands free photoelectric Theremin.The purpose of Theremin Hero is to match the pitch and volume of a photoelectric Theremin to song notes displayed on a television screen, earning points for timing and accuracy.The user uses both hands to play the Theremin, controlling the volume with one hand and the pitch with the other hand through two photoelectric emitter/detectors.The range of the Theremin is from C (~262HZ) to D# (~622Hz), which is played through the speakers via direct digital synthesis (DDS) of the converted sensor signals.The game display features a side scrolling interface similar to the Rock BandTM and Guitar HeroTM interfaces, allowing the user to anticipate upcoming song notes and react accordingly.The screen continually updates the current volume and pitch positioning of the user so that he or she may adjust their notes to align with upcoming song notes. Theremin Hero offers four different game modes, consisting of a practice mode and three preprogrammed songs of increasing difficulty.All menu navigation is accomplished with the photoelectric sensors - allowing for completely hands free operation. During game play the users score at the end of each round is retained if a new record has been established, and the high score is displayed at the main menu.