Bandbeesten: The Legacy Continues

The legacy of the Band-Beesten lives on at the University of Idaho through the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Vandal Marching Band. The former platform for a a moving drum set that was capable of moving across many different surfaces, will soon resemble a grand piano, pianist and all. This piano will be capable of much more than just playing music, and will be much easier to move.

Background
The Band-Beesten project was started in 2011 by Dr. Edwin Odom, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Dr. Daniel Bukvich, Professor of Percussion and Music Theory. The goal of their collaboration was to create a full drum set that could easily be played and moved by a single person during marching band performances. The 2016-2017 acedemic year will be the 6th consecutive year of the project.

Work in the fall of 2011 consisted of researching ideas for a powered platform to assist in parade and marching band performances. The team worked solely on research for a proof of concept and did not build a physical prototype. For more in depth design details refer to the Team Drum Roll webpage.

The design team of 2012-2013 made progress with the BandBeesten's design. Dan Mathewson, a UI graduate student, designed a robotic power driven front ball wheel to enable the machine to receive commands through the operator's body movements. More information on this design can be found in. The 2012 design team made significant progress in designing a human interface and powered movement for the BandBeesten.

In the 2013-2014 academic year, a new team started designing a BandBeesten design that would be light weight and have low friction wheels. This design relied only on man-power and did not have any assisting motors. The team also produced a marketing video for the UI Marching Band using 3D printed models and a stop-motion video design. More information about this design can be found at their page.

In the 2015-2016 academic year, a team made great progress updating the BandBeesten's platform. The base was redesigned and now included three motors in which each of them spun an 'omni wheel assembly. A wireless remote control now commands the three different motors. A micro controller inputs the direction of the joysticks and outputs signal to the motors. More information about the design and project can be found on the Bandbeesten Legacy page.

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Project Goals

 * Maintain Band-Beesten from previous projects.
 * Ensure that the platform from the previous team is reliable, functioning properly, and safe.
 * Design a new Mobile Instrument Component called "Project Ivory".

Design Specifications (Project Ivory)
 * Make a mobile piano frame with an 88-key keyboard
 * Resembels a grand piano
 * Led lights hidden from view until turned on
 * CO2 fog machine included in base
 * Mechanically operated lid
 * Lightweight and easy to carry
 * Detachable keyboard box for safe storage and transportation

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Structure
The Band-Beesten must be able to be light and easily transportable. The base of the Band-Beesten motorized platform is already constructed and is light weight. The responsibility of this design team is to create a lightweight piano shaped structure. This will be done with airplane wing like structure in which the shape will be determined by the shear and moments applied by the configuration of the supports and the weight of the structure itself.

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Motor Controls
To control the power given to each motor, an arduino is used. The arduino sends a signal to separate motor controllers which in turn sends power to each motor. breakers, fuses, and an emergancy stop button have been installed for safety.

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Spring 2016 Design
Project Ivory so far consists of the re-wired base frame from the previous Bandbeesten, as well as a keyboard and anchoring box. Rough design concepts for the main piano body also exist.

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Team Members
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Document Archive
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