Sonic Partnership

Surface Acoustic Wave, or SAW, technology uses ultrasonic waves that pass over a touchscreen panel. When the panel is touched, a portion of the wave is absorbed by whatever object or person comes in contact with it. This disruption of the ultrasonic waves registers the position of the touch event and sends this information to the user.

Originally and commonly seen in electronic circuits, Surface Acoustic Waves are used as transformers, oscillators and/or filters. SAW's sensor ranges include all areas of sensing, including chemical, thermal, pressure, thermal, torque and biological. SAW's have become widely popular in the commercial industry, especially in the cell phone business.

This method of touchscreen interface may be very beneficial to my project. Although more research is required before deciding if this is indeed the method I wish to use, I believe the use of the SAW's ultrasonic waves on the touchscreen-walls and sonic vibrations from the drums can be the perfect combination for my project.

Hurdle

So, I've hit a hurdle with my project. As I researched by idea for using bigger version of the iPhone screen for the walls of the drum hallway, I found something that forces me to alter my idea.

The iPhone screens are not mere touchscreens, they utilize technology known as "capacitive" screens, which generate a constant electric current that only interacts with a human's electric field. A stylus pen, a gloved hand or any other object not be recognized by the iPhone screen. This includes sonic vibrations.

This is possibly for the best, because the liquid-crystal screens at the size that I am imagining
are easily $50,000 each, if not more.

Thereby, I have downgraded my idea to a *simple* touchscreen (similar to display screens in stores and computers, etc.) which has had its sensitivity greatly increased to detect the sonic vibrations of the drums.

I have also played with the idea of not just having one long screen per wall, but a series of reasonably-sized flat touchscreens, each of varying size for aesthetic effect. Just an idea.