Smart Mandolin: autobiographical design, implementation, use cases, and lessons learned

Abstract

This paper presents the Smart Mandolin, an exemplar of the family of the so-called smart instruments. Developed according to the paradigms of autobiographical design, it consists of a conventional acoustic mandolin enhanced with different types of sensors, a microphone, a loudspeaker, wireless connectivity to both local networks and the Internet, and a low-latency audio processing board. Various implemented use cases are presented, which leverage the smart qualities of the instrument. These include the programming of the instrument via applications for smartphones and desktop computer, as well as the wireless control of devices enabling multimodal performances such as screen projecting visuals, smartphones, and tactile devices used by the audience. The paper concludes with an evaluation conducted by the author himself after extensive use, which pinpointed pros and cons of the instrument and provided a comparison with the Hyper-Mandolin, an instance of augmented instruments previously developed by the author.