- Rockin’ Patent: US Patent No. 10,777,181
- Filed: 10 July 2017
- In the name of: Dartmouth College
- Title: Modulated Electromagnetic Musical System And Associated Methods
- What’s claimed: “A modulated electromagnetic (EM) musical system, comprising: an acoustic carrier signal source for generating an acoustic carrier signal; an EM actuator configured to generate an acoustic modulator signal; a linkage element, driven by the EM actuator, that exhibits nonlinear behavior when physically mixing the acoustic carrier signal and the acoustic modulator signal; and an acoustic output coupled with the linkage element to generate acoustic modulation with the non-linear behavior.”
- Why this patent rocks: This appears to be the patent for the technology underlying Cicada by the company Physical Synthesis, an acoustic synthesiser that converts voltage to vibrations in a mechanical oscillator. The instrument was developed at Dartmouth College by Spencer Topel, a music professor at the time and the founder of Physical Synthesis. Vibrations generated by the voice-coil motors in the actuator are transmitted and amplified by the bridge, causing intermittent and periodic interaction with the soundboard resulting in modulation. For more information, see here.
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