The Gecho Loopsynth is a tiny musical instrument that cozily fits in your pocket. Users can physically interact with this miniature device, or let it create melodies from the noise of its surroundings.
Technically, the Gecho is a polyphonic synthesizer. Its body consists of a printed circuit board (PCB) centered around a 32-bit ARM microprocessor. In addition to its embedded magnetic field and infrared sensors, the design relies on four proximity sensors to detect approaching physical interaction. The Gecho also utilizes two sensitive microphones to capture ambient noise.
In order to output pleasant chord progressions, all of the recorded data is sent through variable-resonant filters. The device offers many unique ways to create original music loops, such as inputting notes via a magnetic ring, pushing onboard buttons, using an external instrument, and allowing the device to record background sounds. Gecho also houses 29 embedded LEDs that either blink along with the generated music or indicate sensor activity.
Still in the prototype phase, the company recently launched a Kickstarter effort to jumpstart the production process. If everything goes as planned, the creators hope to ship the Gecho Loopsynth by May 2017.