OBSOLETE VERSION ... CLICK HERE for instructions for the newer hardware.
Only use these instructions if you have a PC board from the earlier version of the TactileAudio system.
Your First Project
Configurable Features
The TactileAudio project’s essential job is to play an audio track and/or activate a vibrator when it senses touch or proximity on one of your sensors. There are a number of options that allow you to configure your device’s behavior.
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- Volume
- Sensitivity
- Instant on/off, or fade-in/fade-out
- Single track (only one track plays at a time) or multitrack (any combination of tracks can play simultaneously)
- Continue track where it left off, or restart track each time the sensor is touched
- Play from a folder of random tracks, or always play the same track for a channel
- Touch-on-release-off (track stops playing when the touch stops), or touch-on-touch-off (track starts when you touch, then stops when you touch again)
- Proximity mode, senses when a hand get near sensor and increases volume as the hand gets closer
- Haptic (vibrator) controls, configures what they do when a sensor is touched.
The Configurator
One of the central goals of the TactileAudio project is to make technology available to non-technical people. Arduino “sketches,” written in the C++ programming language, are difficult for non-programmers. To solve this problem, we created a web-app called the TactileAudio Configurator. (Note: The tactile-configurator.htmo file is also delivered with the TactileAudio software package. Using that one ensures that the configurator matches the exact version of the software you installed.)
Using the configurator, you can specify the options you want for your project, and the configurator writes the C++ program (the Arduino “sketch”) for you. This video will give you a quick introduction to the configurator:
(Note: The team that developed the Arduino IDE, for reasons unknown, decided to use the term “sketches” for the computer programs written by users, rather than sticking with traditional terminology. A “sketch” is simply a small computer program that the Teensy 4 will run when you hit the compile-and-run button.)
Once you’ve selected the behaviors you want for each channel in your project, follow the directions at the bottom of the configurator to install your sketch on your Teensy microcontroller device.