Laser harp based on Arduino. Show of the laser harp "novaya" (a unique laser show) Economic justification for the relevance of the project

Often the image of a harp is used as a symbol of music, but everyone knows that this is a complex instrument that is problematic to master. There are many different instruments, which were created electronically, and the harp was no exception.

Description of the laser harp: how it originated and where it first appeared

laser harp- This is a musical electronic instrument, which consists of several light beams. Lasers can be of different lengths and quantities, starting from 5 and ordering 28, and the range and sound capabilities of the instrument depend on this.

These rays need to be blocked by hands, and this process is similar to touching the strings on an ordinary classical harp. It is also because of such rays that it was nicknamed the laser harp. The evolution of such an instrument was observed as early as 1981, when JMJ's Chinese concert began to use such an instrument. In this case, it is worth noting that the harp made a great impression on the audience, and it must also be said that since that time it has gained this kind of popularity.

The development of the instrument began in 1979, and, as it became known, after a year of work on it, it began to appear at concerts, and the musicians wanted to learn more about it and try to play it.

The most interesting thing is that this instrument is in no way similar to the classical harp, but it is its prototype, which can be quite interesting in its appearance. Also in this case, it is worth noting that the instrument is a kind of classical harp, and its sound is also different from the original.

How the tool was created

In order to create such an instrument, it took a lot of time and effort, but this is due to the fact that connecting it to a synthesizer has become a problematic process. Also in this case, adjustments were constantly made to improve its appearance, but the result that we see now suggests that the creator of such a tool tried very hard to make it look the most beautiful and spectacular.

Tool Benefits

Of course, such an instrument will not pose any threat to the hands, because many people know that when playing the strings, the fingertips constantly get rough. This effect is especially common among musicians who play the harp, as constant contact with the strings makes itself felt.

Of course, this cannot be compared with the classic sound of a harp, but its laser look is also created for more contemporary music, because it is very difficult to imagine before your own eyes a classical performance, for example, of G. F. Handel's “Concerto for harp and orchestra”, played on a laser form of an instrument.

For the most part, the impression of such an instrument is created in evening time, since it is in this case that lasers can be very beautiful, and the movement of the musician's hands with interruptions in the glow of the rays also has a rather spectacular appearance.

At daytime concerts, this type of instrument will not bring such courage and a bewitching look, but as soon as darkness sets in, lasers can amaze even experienced music lovers. Everyone knows that the use of different types of instruments is also mainly based on visual perception, since in any case we all look at the appearance, and this helps us to feel the musical accompaniment well.

Also, thanks to such a harp, you can create many different modern compositions that are easy to use in different directions of music. It could be electronic music modern rock and punk rock, pop and hip hop. This becomes quite convenient, since it can be understood that a given tool may have different sound. Depending on which synthesizer was connected.

Where the sound of a laser harp is used

Since it is an expensive instrument, it is not often used, and it is quite difficult to learn how to play it masterfully. Basically, such an instrument is used at concerts of modern music. The laser harp can be brought to the event and used as an accompaniment to different styles. Although this is not a full harp sound, it is worth noting that this can be used mostly as a visual addition, as it looks very impressive.

How to make a laser harp

A do-it-yourself laser harp can be created, but this will require a lot of effort, materials and time. The fact is that lasers must be emitted by small special mirrors, but even at the same time, these rays must respond to the obstacle of the hand and at that time make a sound.

In this case, this instrument is connected directly to the synthesizer, and when you touch the rays, the harp makes a sound.

In order to create such an instrument, you will need a synthesizer, a power supply, a place for the mechanism of operation (sensors, lamps, mirrors), motion sensors and lamps that will reflect light rays. All these elements must be fastened and connected in such a way that the whole structure has a high-quality appearance.

It is very important to pay attention to the connection of motion sensors to the synthesizer, since without this factor the laser harp will not work.

In order to create such a tool at home, you need to know the specifics electronic music and understand the mechanism of the synthesizer.

Tool photo

We offer you to consider what a laser harp looks like. Photo different types of such a tool will help to understand the principle of its operation, as well as to have an idea what kind of tool it is and by what mechanism it works.

Outcome

A laser harp is a fairly complex instrument that can bewitch with just one of its looks. In order to understand how it works, you should first pay attention to the fact that it is connected to a synthesizer, which has the ability to make all sorts of sounds.

For the most part, the laser harp is able to fascinate with its appearance, and in order to play it, a certain skill is required. The harp is generally quite a heavy instrument for mastering a musical skill, but this kind of melodic accompaniment requires great precision.

laser harp on this moment not so popular, since for the most part musicians may prefer exactly classical instruments, which are able to be at the same time beautiful and high-quality in sound.

The text of the work is placed without images and formulas.
Full version work is available in the "Files of work" tab in PDF format

Introduction

Modern digital technologies have changed literally everything - from our everyday life to art, in any of its manifestations. wooden frame, strings, bow sound- the first association that arises at the mention of the word harp. But what if you imagine in front of you not one of the most ancient plucked instruments, and a tool that works on modern technologies and makes music when you move your hand in the air? Everything seems incomprehensible and intriguing. The idea of ​​creating such a tool prompted us light show French composer Jean Michel Jarre. It should be noted that electronic musical instruments appeared in the late 70s of the 20th century, such as electronic guitars, synthesizers, drum kits. The first technologies for using a laser beam to create musical instruments appeared in the last decade. Unfortunately, to date they have not yet received wide distribution. The reasons for this are the high cost of this device and the lack of Russian production.

Object of study: the process of designing and creating electronic musical instruments;

Subject of study: the use of a laser as a technological basis for the operation of electronic musical instruments;

The purpose of the project: creation of a musical instrument - a harp, the principle of which is based on the use of laser beam technology;

Research objectives:

To study and summarize information sources on the research topic;

Analyze the market for such devices;

Develop a prototype and specification of laser harp electronic components;

Model and design this device;

To assemble, complete, program and test the device;

Perform a feasibility study of the project and develop recommendations for its application.

Research methods: study and systematization of information, design, computer modeling, coding (programming), testing

Historical aspect of the project

The harp is one of the oldest musical instruments of mankind (Fig. 1). It is descended from the onion stretched string, which sounded melodious when fired. Later, the sound of the bowstring was used as a signal. The man who first drew three or four bowstrings on a bow, which, due to their unequal length, made sounds different heights, and became the creator of the first harp. Even in the Egyptian frescoes of the 15th century BC, harps still resemble a bow. And these harps are not the most ancient: archaeologists found the oldest harp during excavations of the Sumerian city of Ur in Mesopotamia - it was made four and a half thousand years ago, in the 26th century BC.

In ancient times, in the East, in Greece and Rome, the harp remained one of the most common and beloved instruments. It was often used to accompany singing or playing other instruments. The harp appeared early and in medieval Europe: Here special art playing on it was famous for Ireland, where folk singers- bards - sang their sagas to her accompaniment.

In the 20th century, with the advent of digital technology, the laser harp was invented. The laser harp was used for the first time at JMJ's Chinese concert back in 1981 and made a big impression on the audience. More complex - a two-color laser harp - was invented and made in 2008 by Maurizio Carelli. An Italian software and electronics engineer has created a portable two-tone laser harp called the KromaLASER KL-250. It was based on weak (only 80-100 mW) laser beams, because it was just a prototype of the currently existing Laser Harp. After that, Carelli developed the final and more powerful version of the Laser Harp called "KromaLASER KL-450". characteristic feature this instrument was a configured full octave with green beams for any diatonic notes and red beams for any chromatic notes. In the second half of 2010, Maurizio Carelli also developed a full color laser device independent of daylight a stand-alone model with a 1W laser called "KromaLASER KL-PRO", as well as another version of the laser harp, capable of controlling ILDA laser scanners, using blue / cyan color to implement the first multi-color laser controller: "KL-Control" (KL-Kontrol), the prototype of which was "KL-ILDA".

As part of our study, an analysis of the market for musical instruments of this kind was carried out, as a result of which it was found that existing tools can be classified according to the technology of functioning:

frameless,

frame,

by scope:

cabinet,

concert.

A frameless (open) laser harp is usually an unenclosed laser "fan" emanating from a laser projector of one design or another. That is why it is called “open” because neither from the sides nor from above, it is not closed by anything. When used indoors, the beams simply reach the ceiling, while in open areas they can freely go into the sky. (Fig. 2)

The first laser framed (closed) harps were single-color - usually with green beams. This is due to the peculiarity of human vision: with the same power of the laser projector, the green light of the laser is much better visible to us than the red one. But then two-color and multi-color laser harps began to appear. (Fig. 3)

The principle of operation of laser harps

From the point of view of physical processes, the operation of a laser harp is based on the phenomenon of the photoelectric effect - i.e. the ability of a substance to emit a stream of electrons under the influence of light - the photovoltaic effect (Fig. 4). It was first observed in 1839 by the French physicist Antoine Henri Becquerel. In 1888, Alexander Stoletov created the world's first photoelectric cell, and in 1905, Albert Einstein explained the phenomenon of the photoelectric effect in his work, for which he was awarded Nobel Prize in physics in 1921.

The principle of operation of open laser harps is quite complicated, and the main role here is played by special sensors located below, at the feet of the performer. These sensors register light flashes from the hands of the performer: when the musician covers one or another beam with his palm, his palm flashes with bright light. According to the principle of operation of these sensors, an open laser harp is divided into hardware and software-hardware.

In the first, signals from photosensitive elements are processed by devices based on microcontrollers, in the second, high-speed video cameras (from 60 frames per second and higher) usually act as sensors, the image from which is processed special programs on computers in real time (Fig. 5).

As part of our project, we chose the frame version of the technology. The harp in this case is a closed structure, in which vertical laser beams fall on photocells, as in laser signaling systems or subway turnstiles. Photocells, in turn, depending on the brightness of the light flux, generate electrical signals of a certain level, which are then converted into sounds (Fig. 6).

Economic justification for the relevance of the project

As part of this study we analyzed the market of musical instruments in order to find out the cost of modern laser harps. Based on the results of the analysis, the following data were obtained:

the minimum price for a closed harp is $270 (18,500 rubles) on the Chinese website (Aliexpress).

the highest price for a tool is 490 thousand rubles.

After analyzing the market for such musical devices, we conclude that laser harps are very rare in musical instrument stores, and they are completely absent in Russia. Below are the details of the different models of laser harps (Table 1):

Table 1

Characteristics of laser harps

Closed circuit harp is relatively small in comparison with the open type. The country of origin of both types is China. There are no analogues of this device manufactured in Russia. In the absence of such devices in our country and the high cost abroad determines the relevance of our work.

Enclosed laser harp design

For the functional organization of the device, we needed the following set of electronic components:

Arduino UNO microcontroller - the controller is built on ATmega328. The platform has 14 digital inputs/outputs, 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connector, a power connector, an ICSP connector, and a reset button. To work, you need to connect the platform to a computer via a USB cable, or supply power using an AC / DC adapter or a battery. (Fig. 7)

Semiconductor lasers are lasers with an amplifying medium based on semiconductors, where generation occurs, as a rule, due to stimulated emission of photons during interband electron transitions under conditions of high carrier concentration in the conduction band (Fig. 8).

Resistors and photoresistors. The main functional element in our device is a photoresistor - a sensor whose electrical resistance varies depending on the intensity of the light falling on it. The more intense the light, the greater the flow of electrons and the lower the resistance of the element becomes (Fig. 9 and 10).

Buzzer (piezoelectric element) - a signaling device, electro-mechanical, electronic or piezoelectric. (Fig. 11)

Laboratory power supply. (Fig. 12)

From the photocells, an electrical signal is removed and fed to a piezoelectric element, which makes a sound.

As for the design of the future device, having considered all the options, ranging from classical style before high - tech, we decided to develop our own. The shape of the harp frame will resemble the well-known sheet of the SIBUR company. Using the capabilities of the Fusion 360 3D modeling environment, we have developed a model of the frame of the future musical instrument, which will be created as a result of the project (Fig. 15)

Based on the large size of the harp, we decided not to print it on a 3D printer, but to use a laser machine for cutting plywood. To do this, we used the Sliser program for Fusion 360. (Fig. 16).

Laser harp programming

This system is controlled by a programmable microcontroller. Arduino UNO, we chose the IDE as the programming environment. The IDE is the only program in which all development takes place. It contains many functions for creating, modifying, compiling, deploying and debugging software. A fragment of the control program is presented below.

Prolight's LaserHarpController turns your laser projector into a laser harp. By closing these multi-colored beams, you can play it like a real harp.

When one or more laser beams are blocked, the optical sensor sends signals to the controller, which in turn sends Midi commands to devices such as a synthesizer, sampler, sound card or “midi USB” to communicate with a PC, where the signals are converted to sound or others. With a laser harp controller, it's so fun to create exciting live shows.

The LaserHarpController is very flexible: it can be programmed to trigger the playback of any type of audio or video, any visual image, sound or music, special effect or even pyrotechnics. Together with laser control software (such as Phoenix4 or Pangolin), the laser harp can be used to create customized laser effects.

Phoenix4 Live already has a ready-to-use LaserHarp module, so you can instantly create your live laser concert from your laser harp without major modifications. Feel like a laser jockey and become a laser harp virtuoso!

Advantages:

• More advanced features than any other laser harp on the market!
• With our laser harp controller you can choose between 8, 9, 10 or 12 laser beams, depending on how many notes in the tune you will be playing.
• Your laser beams can be all red, all green, all blue or green and red (in which case the red beams assign high notes and all other notes are green, like black and white piano keys), or multi-colored (rainbow mode), if you using an RGB laser. Selectable MIDI sound orientation (left to right or vice versa (always starts with a C sound))
• You can switch the tone orientation (starting from C tone) from left to right.
• You can switch between three different MIDI banks (C3, C4 and C5 musical scales).
• Polyphonic melodies (sensor detects the overlap of several harp beams at the same time)
• You can connect a dual footswitch to your controller and use it to open/close the Laser Harp's beams and quickly switch between MIDI banks.
• If the footswitch is not available, all functions can be controlled and operated on the laser harp controller itself.
• Functional LEDs on controller and sensor for easy indication and operation in dark places
• Ability to control the size of the beams of the harp. The very small size of the harp, controller, and transducer makes it almost imperceptible to install on any stage (no big and awkward boxes on stage!). Your Laser Harp will be virtually invisible.

Specifications:

• Sensor signal connector: 8P8C UTP CAT5 communication cable
• Laser Projector Connector: DB-25 ILDA
• MIDI signal connector: Female 5-pin DIN
• Foot switch connector: stereo TRF 6.35mm
• Power: AC Input: 110-240V AC 50/60Hz | DC output: 12V, min. 1200mA
• Weight: controller: approx 760g | Sensor box: approx 670g
• Dimensions: controller box: 200/123/46mm (L/W/H) | Gauge box and 128/94/101mm (L/W/H)

somewhat reminiscent of the story of Michael Oldfield. It seems like the music is beautiful, and in some places even brilliant, but no one wants to deal with it. And so on until a more or less sensible businessman who needs material to promote his studio meets. In the case of Michael Oldfield, it was Richard Branson. In the story of Jean-Michel's Oxygen, Francis Dreyfus said his final word.

This person generally did quite a lot in order to shape the musical tastes of France. For example, he opened for the French such world-famous performers as Pink Floyd and. Francis believed in young composer named Jean-Michel Jarre.

Those record companies that rejected the young musician with contempt, then bit their elbows in despair. Because Oxygen conquered the whole world. He took the first charts in the charts around the world, which was a complete surprise for those companies.

The Kraftwerk music was lifeless. We can talk about this with full right, as the musicians of this group themselves are proud of this.

But Oxygen has become a real symphony in the world of electronic music. In this music, it was not electronics that subjugated the musician, but, on the contrary, the soul of the musician found its form in electronic harmonies, clothed in hitherto unprecedented poetry and beauty.

oxygen 4, main part album, became an extremely popular tune in a variety of films.

The next album repeats the success of Oxygen. Equinox - Equinox. It can rightly be said that thanks to this album, Jean-Michel gained worldwide fame.

In 1981, the year takes place historical event: Jean-Michel is flying to China to perform a series of five concerts. After Mao's death, no one European composers and musicians did not visit this country with their concerts.

At those concerts, he found something to hook the soul of the Chinese: he very subtly and skillfully used the cunning weaves of Chinese folk instruments with electronic.

Since then, Jean-Michel quite often took part in various social events. Like, for example, the same expensive record in the history of France, which was sold only once.

Then he just found out about the upcoming exhibition of young artists. She had almost everything from the sphere contemporary art including paintings and sculptures. But there was no music timed specifically for this event. Then Jean-Michel locks himself in his studio for three months and releases the album "Music for Supermarkets" at the end. We have already talked about the fate of this disc in a previous article. It was grandly auctioned off, after which Jean-Michel allowed it to be played only once on the radio, strictly forbidding copying of the recordings. All other recordings of this album were defiantly destroyed. Jean-Michel wanted this album to be something like a painting or a sculpture that exists only in a single copy.

IN next year he publishes Zoolook, which brought the musician another wave of popularity. The listeners were especially captivated by the fact that Jarre used the human voice as an instrument with might and main. For electronic music, this was a novelty.

Once, NASA commissioned Jarre to host a grand event. NASA itself was about to celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary. Also, the 150th Anniversary of Texas was just being planned. Therefore, we decided to hit the whole world with an unheard-of novelty.

The concert was called "Houston Date". It had to be played and recorded not just anywhere, but in space!

Ron McNair was supposed to play it on saxophone while aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. Yes, yes, the one that exploded during takeoff. His image was planned to be transferred to the wall of the building, which was completely turned into a fantastic screen. But... it didn't work. And for very good reasons.

Therefore, the concert in Houston still took place, but from a festive one it turned into a memorial one, as a tribute to America.

Six months later, Jean-Michel decides to take on another, no less grandiose event, and organizes a concert in Lyon. It just coincided with the arrival of the Pope, and the concert was almost canceled again. Barely able to persuade the authorities, after which the Lyon security services were mobilized and the first concert was held using a laser harp.

The laser harp is an amazing musical instrument that uses beams of light instead of strings. It is mainly used in his concerts by Jean-Michel Jarre, who invented it and glorified it himself. This instrument is notable for the fact that it has a hollow octave, on which absolutely any pitch can be played. Diatonic notes are played on green rays, and chromatic notes on red ones.

revolutions

Revolutions' next album was nearly banned. After it was banned as obscene, but with grief they released it in half. And it was all due to the fact that Arabic singing sounded on it. Well, times were pretty rough back then.

Jean-Michel dedicated this album to Dulcie September, who was murdered in 1988 in Paris as a victim of apartheid.

At some point, I was confused. So what about the segregation policy? In some ways, even preferential behavior, which allows two conflicting cultures not to be an eyesore to each other. But in fact, everything is somewhat more complicated.

Now apartheid is associated with South Africa. More precisely, this is how the wiki associates it. To make it clear to you, this is the same thing that the Europeans did with the Native Americans. IN best case, they allowed the Indians to live on specially designated reservations.

For example, apartheid laws forbade marriage between said races, outlawed sexual relations between a man and a woman of these races (immorality law), intermarriage was prohibited, population registration was carried out on the basis of skin color, and other regulations that were in fact all those the same actions that were at one time on the same grounds established by Hitler.

But due to the fact that Hitler was among the losers, his policy was recognized as illegal and illegal. And practically the same policy of the winning countries was considered quite legal and worthy of respect. It was with this state of affairs that both the UN and Jean-Michel Jarre fought.

After the release of this album, Jarre decided to perform a concert in London, which he did despite the rain. According to some points, one can judge that he made the rain part of the scenery, although it disabled some of the electronic instruments.

In 1989, Jean-Michel breaks his own rules, and instead of the usual grandiose concerts makes a very small, twenty-minute mini-concert dedicated to the centenary of the Eiffel Tower.

Since then, Jean-Michel has timed his concerts so often to one or another date that it makes no sense to list them all. Hundreds of concerts and all significant. He is no longer so much a musician as a musical public figure.

However, in the nineties, he decides to further expand the scope of his activities and becomes the editor-in-chief of the Le Figaro magazine. The number of unrealized and frankly failed projects is increasing.

How public figure it is used by UNESCO in 1993 when it gives a series of concerts at strategic locations. Then he releases his new album called "Chronology". And again concerts, albums, the continuation of Oxygen ...

The laser harp is an electronic musical instrument that consists of several laser beams that need to be blocked, similar to the plucking of the strings of a conventional harp. It is famous for being used in the concerts of Jean Michel Jarre.

The laser harp, which got its name from its resemblance to a regular harp, was first used by JMJ during concerts in China in 1981. The Chinese public was amazed and delighted with this instrument. The strings in this harp are laser beams. The prototype of the laser harp was developed by the Frenchman Bernard Szajner in 1979. In 1981, when the instrument was first shown to the public, it was still under development. Since then, the laser harp has undergone many changes.

The French engineer Philippe Guerre, who was interested in music, made radical changes to the instrument and its software. His laser harp was constructed from a laser and a rotating mirror that reflected beams in different directions. Photoelectric sensors determined exactly where an obstacle stood in the path of the laser beam.

A laser harp with a similar design was used by Jarre at the Houston concert and subsequent performances. The intellectual part of the instrument is a microcomputer that uses the Laserharp program developed by Guerre. Every beam can play different notes when Jarre touches the light "strings". When Jarre moves his hands up or down, the tone of the note changes. As soon as Jarre removes his hand from the beam, the note will stop playing.

The laser harp used by Jean-Michel in Paris was an aluminum structure four meters high and two and a half meters wide with twelve transparent artificial glass tubes for twelve laser beams.

Jean-Michel has often been criticized for wearing huge clumsy gloves while playing the laser harp in concert. However, this is not part of the scenery, as some people think, but a means of security. Gloves are made of a special material and protect the performer from laser beams. Otherwise, the performer's hands would simply burn out. In addition, special sunglasses protect eyes from laser radiation.

Also, laser harps are made by Jen Levin.

Architect Jen Lewin has an unusual hobby - she makes laser harps. What it is? These are both musical instruments and art installations. Their main element is laser beams, which are "responsible" for the sound effect. Amazing, isn't it?

In fact, everything is simple and clear. But such is the specificity of modern art: the author must certainly explain everything, necessarily flavoring his explanations with vague and mysterious concepts. And, of course, call it all a concept.

So, the concept of laser harps as interpreted by Jen: "Using light instead of real strings changes our perception of space and matter.

What does not physically exist (virtual string) acts as if it were there. "Directly poetry!.

Having adopted this - or some other - "twisted" formulation, or even without it at all, Jen took up laser harps back in 1997 and since then managed to make 8 of them. Such is the hobby.
She argues that all harps are different: some are made in the form of elegant wooden sculptures, others are not so elegant, but are water and weather resistant.
Jen Levine made one of these harps with a grant from the Black Rock Art Foundation, presented it to the general public last year at the Burning Man festival, and now she is showing her instrument at Wired NextFest. Therefore, according to the artist, the harp had to be protected not only from winds, rains and dirt, but also from "the physical impact of visitors."

In order to better demonstrate the harp's capabilities and grab the audience's attention, Jen decided to make it a composite. The installation consists of three harps, which can be arranged in any way (each is powered by an independent source of electric current). By the way, Jen rearranged her creations all the days of the exhibition. That is, every morning the installation turned out to be as if new.
However, in the morning, as in the afternoon, there is nothing special to look at - ordinary steel frames. But something magical happened that night. Vertical rays, starting at the very ground and abruptly "cutting off" at a height of up to three meters in open space, in an open field, so to speak, is a truly enchanting sight. But visitors did not forget about the musical component of the structures. And for good reason - she also turned out to be extremely unusual.
After all, strings are rays that can not only be "pulled", but also pass through. You can even play a whole song - running (or passing, depending on musical preferences) through different harps: of course, if the configuration allows.
According to estimates, the rays-strings are enough for five octaves: you can depict (to what extent the right word!) something very symphonic, especially since several people can play at once. But the laser harp was not made to be used as an ordinary one. Therefore, Jen decided to add some "chips" to it, which the composers who composed parts for harps never dreamed of.

For example, crossing with one beam can give two dozen different sampled sounds, the amplitude of which, moreover, varies depending on the speed of movement: the faster, the louder. Jen says that you can play a variety of melodies this way - mostly meditative and atmospheric.
Jen's website has laser harp videos from 2001 and 2004 - plenty to watch and listen to.
Finishing the story about the concept of laser harps, Jen suddenly recalls that her installation is "equipped with lasers of a class recognized as safe for use in direct impact". After such an interesting explanation of the concept, the words about the class of equipment sound like a banality.
But Jen can be understood: after all, these harps are perhaps one of the few interactive sculptures for which there is a place in music industry- and not even virtual.

So, the laser harp has also received its distribution in Russia.

Russian musicians decided not to follow the Western experience and tried to build a laser harp from scratch. As a result, the designers creative association Deftaudio from Nizhny Novgorod it also turned out to be a body laser harp, but from eight beams. As the developers told Infox.ru correspondent, the design of the Nizhny Novgorod harp uses one industrial laser with a power of up to 100 mW, as well as eight reflectors and the same number of sensors, which are mounted on a frame about two and a half meters high.

A single laser is copied in the same way as in the Guerra instrument, but each resulting beam is received by an individual sensor. The position of the hand in height relative to the beam in domestic development can be controlled by an infrared sensor that is attached to the arm.

Like its counterparts, the Deftaudio harp is connected to synthesizer equipment, which allows you to model its sound at the discretion of the performer.

The power of the Nizhny Novgorod laser harp is low, and it is not necessary to use asbestos gloves for it. Therefore, it looks best in small darkened rooms where a smoke machine works. This is what allows it to be used in clubs and concert halls.

And this is how the instrument sounds in the video.