BeatBite Control

Inventors	Ana Markovic, Kosta Dedakin
micro:bit IDE	MakeCode Editor
Best Location	Classroom

Difficulty

Hardware	Easy
Software	Easy

Special Requirement

None

Project Overview

Have you ever been on a bus ride that seems to stretch forever? You reach for your earphones, eager to drown out the monotony with some tunes, only to find the first few songs falling flat. It’s frustrating, right? Each time you want to skip a track, it's a whole ordeal: fishing out your phone, unlocking it, navigating to the music app—it's enough to make you want to skip the skipping altogether. But what if there was a way to bypass those duds with just a clench of your jaw (something you're probably doing anyways)? Imagine this scenario: you settle into your seat, close your eyes, and with a subtle flex of your jaw muscles, seamlessly transition from a lackluster tune to something that really hits the spot. No more reaching for your phone.

What if that could be a reality? Here is what we came up with:

Build Instructions

Materials Needed

• 1x spiker:bit kit (spiker:bit, 3x electrodes, and orange cables)
• 1x micro:bit
• 1x wired headphones
• 2x alligator clips

1. Connect spiker:bit and alligator clips ###

Flip spike:bit and find pin2 (ground) and pin3 (pin2) that is located in expand port of the spiker:bit. Choose one alligator clip and connect to pin2. Do same thing for the another clip to pin3. Color for each clips do not matter.

2. Connect alligator clips to headphone

Grab other end of alligator clips which was connected to pin2. Clip this to tip of the headphone jack. Grab other end of alligator clips connected to pin3 and clip to base of the headphone jack.

Code

BeatBite uses a simple micro:bit setup and a few cables to bring this simple idea into reality!

The code measure the strength of a jaw press. This number is then used as a button to increment through an array (by increasing "IndexOfSongs").

Block Code

Python

BeatBite

IndexOfSongs = 0
val = 0
spikerbit.start_muscle_recording()
pins.set_audio_pin(DigitalPin.P2)
THRESHOLD = 10
basic.show_icon(IconNames.NO)
# defines the main function

def on_forever():
    global val, IndexOfSongs
    # reads the EMG signal and puts it in "val"
    val = spikerbit.muscle_power_signal()
    # defines the range for skipping music
    # using if else if to skip and play the music
    if val >= THRESHOLD:
        if IndexOfSongs == 1:
            basic.show_icon(IconNames.HEART)
            music.stop_all_sounds()
            music.play(music.string_playable("A A A A A A A A ", 500),
                music.PlaybackMode.LOOPING_IN_BACKGROUND)
            IndexOfSongs += 1
        elif IndexOfSongs == 2:
            basic.show_icon(IconNames.SMALL_HEART)
            music.stop_all_sounds()
            music.play(music.string_playable("G G G G G G G G ", 500),
                music.PlaybackMode.LOOPING_IN_BACKGROUND)
            IndexOfSongs += 1
        elif IndexOfSongs == 3:
            basic.show_icon(IconNames.YES)
            music.stop_all_sounds()
            music.play(music.string_playable("C5 A B D F - G B ", 500),
                music.PlaybackMode.LOOPING_IN_BACKGROUND)
            IndexOfSongs += 1
        elif IndexOfSongs == 4:
            basic.show_icon(IconNames.NO)
            music.stop_all_sounds()
            music.play(music.string_playable("A E A B A F A B ", 500),
                music.PlaybackMode.LOOPING_IN_BACKGROUND)
            IndexOfSongs += 1
        elif IndexOfSongs == 5:
            basic.show_icon(IconNames.HAPPY)
            music.stop_all_sounds()
            music.play(music.string_playable("C F B F C F C B ", 500),
                music.PlaybackMode.LOOPING_IN_BACKGROUND)
            IndexOfSongs += 1
        elif IndexOfSongs == 6:
            basic.show_icon(IconNames.SAD)
            music.stop_all_sounds()
            music.play(music.string_playable("C C C C C C C C ", 500),
                music.PlaybackMode.LOOPING_IN_BACKGROUND)
            IndexOfSongs += 1
        else:
            # if the Index reaches anything outside the range, put it back on track
            IndexOfSongs = 1
            basic.show_icon(IconNames.NO)
basic.forever(on_forever)

Js

BeatBite

let IndexOfSongs = 0
let val = 0
spikerbit.startMuscleRecording()
pins.setAudioPin(DigitalPin.P2)
let THRESHOLD = 10
basic.showIcon(IconNames.No)
// defines the main function
basic.forever(function () {
    // reads the EMG signal and puts it in "val"
    val = spikerbit.musclePowerSignal()
    // defines the range for skipping music
    // using if else if to skip and play the music
    if (val >= THRESHOLD) {
        if (IndexOfSongs == 1) {
            basic.showIcon(IconNames.Heart)
            music.stopAllSounds()
            music.play(music.stringPlayable("A A A A A A A A ", 500), music.PlaybackMode.LoopingInBackground)
            IndexOfSongs += 1
        } else if (IndexOfSongs == 2) {
            basic.showIcon(IconNames.SmallHeart)
            music.stopAllSounds()
            music.play(music.stringPlayable("G G G G G G G G ", 500), music.PlaybackMode.LoopingInBackground)
            IndexOfSongs += 1
        } else if (IndexOfSongs == 3) {
            basic.showIcon(IconNames.Yes)
            music.stopAllSounds()
            music.play(music.stringPlayable("C5 A B D F - G B ", 500), music.PlaybackMode.LoopingInBackground)
            IndexOfSongs += 1
        } else if (IndexOfSongs == 4) {
            basic.showIcon(IconNames.No)
            music.stopAllSounds()
            music.play(music.stringPlayable("A E A B A F A B ", 500), music.PlaybackMode.LoopingInBackground)
            IndexOfSongs += 1
        } else if (IndexOfSongs == 5) {
            basic.showIcon(IconNames.Happy)
            music.stopAllSounds()
            music.play(music.stringPlayable("C F B F C F C B ", 500), music.PlaybackMode.LoopingInBackground)
            IndexOfSongs += 1
        } else if (IndexOfSongs == 6) {
            basic.showIcon(IconNames.Sad)
            music.stopAllSounds()
            music.play(music.stringPlayable("C C C C C C C C ", 500), music.PlaybackMode.LoopingInBackground)
            IndexOfSongs += 1
        } else {
            // if the Index reaches anything outside the range, put it back on track
            IndexOfSongs = 1
            basic.showIcon(IconNames.No)
        }
    }
})

Operating Instructions

To use, place ground electrode at mastoid and other two electrodes jaw muscle.

To play music, simply turn on the Spiker:Bit.

To change the music, try moving the jaw muscle up and down. Then, you should hear different sound effects.

It is difficult to hear music from both ears. If this is happening to you, try moving alligator clips clipped to tip of headphone jack towards closest insulating rings (a "black line")

If you struggle to build, check this reference page from Makecode.