I want to invent a singing doll. Not computer generated but I want it to work like how the actual human vocal system works.
I found something from around 2003 made in Japan:
http://www.newscientist.com/data/ima...2240-1_898.jpg
I couldn't find much news of it now.
but here is a page about the mechanism:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/art...?artid=2279150
I am no science wiz but I would like to get some advice on how to create a singing doll. I specialize in sculpting so I can make the parts, I don't know much about how it works as of now.
There were some videos on the mechanism I linked above but It sounds really terrible to be honest. Sounds like air coming out of a balloon. Like that farting balloon sound if you know what I'm talking about.
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My idea so far..
I was thinking that the doll will somehow be stuck on something (with magnets maybe)
while controlling the musical instrument with strings attached to a glove.
Perhaps something like when you move the string in a certain manner it squeezes some air compressor to blow air through a tube to create a sound.
Pitch is controlled by another string maybe in the other hand perhaps. I am not exactly sure how humans voice pitch changes. I know it squeezes together therefore allowing less space for air to travel through thus creating a higher pitch. I'm not sure where this happens. I think it was in the vocal box? Well the string will control this squeezing action to control the pitch.
That's just something I thought up of but I have never tooken anatomy and I have a feeling it's a lot more complex to create a natural human voice like getting the entire body to work with the vocal chord, connected the nasal parts with the voice or the sort..
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If anybody can tell me how to get this working, I'll be grateful.
thanks