Learn to conduct — by moving, not reading.
A tangible baton and wristband box that turn hand motion into music in real time — Arduino, a 3-axis accelerometer, and LED + sound feedback. Hand-built and user-tested over five sprints.
The Conductor Simulator splits into a baton you move and a box you wear — together they turn motion into music.
Sweep it like a conductor. A threaded cap holds the 3-axis sensor; a button on the handle changes mode.
Straps to the forearm so the baton stays light. It carries the Arduino, battery, speaker and LED.
Conducting is hard to even try — there’s no low-stakes, hands-on way for a beginner to feel it.
A sensor baton + wristband box that turn your motion into music, with light and sound feedback.
All 3D/CAD (wand + box) and fabrication, plus the research design & user testing — in a team of 4.
Team “No Weaknesses” · Prototyping Physical Interaction.
Arduino Uno · Grove 3-axis accelerometer · LED · speaker · key switch · battery · Fusion CAD · 3D printing.
A working, user-tested tangible prototype — refined across 3 prototype rounds.
Most people will never stand in front of an orchestra. There’s no casual, hands-on way to feel what leading music is like — so the skill stays abstract, and intimidating, for anyone who didn’t grow up with it.
How might we let a complete beginner experience conducting — playfully, physically, and with instant feedback?
Framed with the team during discovery, grounded in Human-Centered Design, the Aesthetic-Usability Effect and Tesler’s Law.
Non-musicians and curious beginners — people who’d never get near a podium. We validated the device with participants across a range of musical experience, from none to advanced.
User segment defined through usability testing, not a persona document. Team research personas existed in discovery; this page leads with the people we actually tested.
Motion is the whole interface — no menus to learn before you can play.
You always know, in the moment, whether you’re on the beat.
Ergonomic enough for extended use — including smaller hands.
A beginner should feel invited to wave it about, not judged by it.
No screen to read, no notation to learn. You move the baton; the system listens and responds in real time.
grip + ready
your gesture
3-axis motion
tempo + logic
music in time
With no screen, the device speaks in two channels: an LED state for the eye, and tempo-mapped audio for the ear.
LED states
On-beat / correct
Off / incorrect
Menu / mode
Neutral / ready
Audio + components
Tempo-mapped playback of well-known pieces, a song-selection menu, and a game mode — the faster you conduct, the faster it plays.
Grove 3-axis accelerometer · key-switch button · LED · speaker · Arduino Uno · battery.
Good hardware gets out of the way. I modelled both the wand and the casing in CAD — a tapered handle, a threaded sensor cap, lighter walls and a wristband mount — iterating each before the final 3D print.
All the 3D — the wand and the box — and the final 3D-printed parts were my part of the team build (3 box + 7 lid iterations; I visited the print lab to check the fit).
This is the strongest proof of my contribution: I owned the wand and casing CAD through repeated physical-fit iterations, then carried those models into the final 3D-printed prototype.
We wired it on a breadboard, then moved to the 3D-printed wand and box. This is the working prototype we put in front of users — worn on the forearm, hand-soldered, and battery-powered.
A working coursework prototype — not a finished product.
We ran an observational study, four prototype interviews and hands-on usability tests with participants across the musical spectrum — from no musical background to flute and bagpipe players.
Watching how people naturally moved the baton.
Hands-on tasks with the working prototype.
Heuristic review against usability principles.
Sessions captured and analysed as a team.
In the testers’ words
“Don’t make it too heavy — and I couldn’t tell when the button had clicked.”
Tester · no musical background“The button’s too small and too close, and the wires really restrict the movement.”
Tester · flute player“Really fun — but it’s fragile, and there are too many wires to hide.”
Tester · bagpipe player, 7 yrsToo heavy on the wrist, and the button broke the flow. Testers asked for a buzz on a wrong move — and a simple manual.
Motion felt intuitive, but detection glitched. The small button was badly placed; they wanted LED feedback on movement.
Handle still hard for small hands, button too small. They loved conducting known songs — and wanted clearer output and volume.
Recurring pain points
Small button that interrupted movement
Larger mechanical key switch with a clear press
Heavy, uncomfortable handle
Ergonomic handle with better weight distribution
Thin, loose mount on the arm
Wristband + lid grooves so the box sits firm
Vague, unclear feedback
A full LED state system (on-beat, off, menu, ready)
Glitchy movement detection
Accelerometer fine-tuned for fewer false positives
Confusing controls for beginners
Simplified menu and clearer instructions
The clearest proof is the prototype in motion — the baton sweeping, the sound following, and the LED keeping you honest.
Use the demo as proof of physical interaction, not decoration. It shows the thing a screenshot cannot: motion becoming music in real time.
“On screen, you can hide a weak idea behind a nice layout. In your hand, the design either feels right or it doesn’t.”
Owning the 3D taught me that ergonomics is UX — a few millimetres on a handle changed how people felt about the whole thing. The loop of test → change → test was the entire project. Given more time, the team’s vision went further: an on-device display, a metronome and volume controls, wireless, and a multiplayer mode.