Circuit Boards Turn Any Object Into An Electronic Instrument [Video]
Ototo lets you build musical instruments with minimal knowledge.
Created by design studio Dentaku, Ototo is an experimental synthesizer that allows you to turn anything into a musical instrument. It has 12 on-board touch pads and 4 built-in sensor inputs, which together let you trigger and manipulate the generated sounds.
At about the size of a cassette tape, Ototo’s most important attribute is its simplicity. It’s powered by two AA batteries or through micro USB, and it has crocodile clips that easily connect to one or more conductive objects of your choice. With this sort of no-fuss interface, you can use it to make unconventional musical instruments like a saucepan drum kit or a singing potted plant. And once you connect the electronic modules to your “instrument,” you can listen through Ototo’s built-in speaker or use the 3.5mm audio output port.
The best thing about Ototo is that it’s ready to go right out of the box. It doesn’t require any advanced experience with electrical circuits, computer programming, or even music for that matter.
According to Yuri Suzuku, Co-Founder of Dentaku:
We wanted to create a kit that makes physical computing and interactive projects accessible for everyone. Getting into coding and understanding electronics can be a barrier for creativity, Ototo allows anyone to build amazing electronic sound projects with minimal knowledge.
Ototo is slated to be available sometime in 2014.