Happy π Day!Hello readers, I hope everyone is having a wonderful Pi Day. My computers certainly are. Today a dozen of my fastest computers have been dedicated to the seemingly endless pursuit of complexity.
This is our first official newsletter you have all been waiting for. Firstly, I want to thank all of our subscribers for their patience, I hope this answers many of your questions and opens your mind's to the possibilities to come.
I will begin by addressing issues that occasionally arise regarding Nova Conceptions and then move forward to a comprehensive description of the core feature of our new design. This will certainly settle much debate, but inevitably pave the way for even more questions.
Why did Nova Conceptions discontinue the Ultrasound series?
>Contrary to the overwhelmingly popular misconception, Ultrasabers commissioned Nova Conceptions to produce a batch of Ultrasound 2.5s and, upon receiving their completed order, failed to financially comply. The payment balance, due upon arrival, was never received. After 6 months of absolutely no communication, Nova Conceptions was forced to auction off surplus stock to the highest bidder in an attempt to break even. No new units will ever be produced.
Nova Conception's maximum capabilities cannot be judged or based upon previous designs. Nova Conceptions produced ONLY exactly what our client asked for. Any shortcomings in the functionality of the Ultrasound boards are, therefore, due entirely to the lack of vision of it's creator, Ultrasabers, and does not represent a limit of the true potential of what can be and will soon be achieved.
Can I download or obtain design files (schematics, firmware, BOM, gerbers, etc.) to produce my own Ultrasound board?
>No. New Ultrasound boards will no longer be produced. Since they were designed for our former client, it is against our (Nova Conception's) ethics to supply this information to anyone other than Ultrasabers. The liquidation of our excess stock was only an attempt to correct a deficiency, not to pass off this work as our own.
Does the LSD-X4 use Ultra's existing technology, and thus constitute copyright infringement? >No. The LSD-X4 is being produced from the ground up, it uses NOT a single algorithm, method, circuit pathway, nor process from any prior work. This design operates very differently than any previous saber board and will forever change the world of lightsaber enthusiasts.
Now, what everyone has been waiting for...
Nova Conceptions presents...
The LSD-X4 Light Saber Sound, Motion, and Light Controller
Version 1.0
What's it called?
>LSD-X4 It stands for Light Saber Driver. Why X4? Actually this is not a version number, this is in reference to it's use of quadruple axis motion detection aXis 4.
What's this!?
>A light saber driver with integrated sound / motion / light control. It was specifically engineered to provide better performance in these three areas than anything before it and anything currently possible.
Tech Specs and Features:
Switching Power Supply – allows high efficiency conversions and a wide range of input voltages.
Processor – MAIN: 120 MIPS. 32 bit. Hardware math functions.
*Acceleration co-processor – 16MIPS. 8-bit. Handles high speed motion to position and acceleration conversion.
*Sound processor – DSP based. Algorithmic FFT capable (digital bandpass and frequency adjusting, etc..) Performs sound mixing, asynchronous 16bit 24khz playback. Works together with acceleration co-cpu.
Switching Converter LED Driver – Very efficient, doesn't get hot, and is statically held by microcontroller monitored feedback processes.
Motion Sensitivity – Acceleration compensated tilt sensors as well as high refresh rate motion sensors allow for a virtually unlimited amount of movements to differentiated. Much more complicated than simple swoosh and impact thresholds. The high speed nature of this revolutionary sensor concept coupled with an incredibly fast, dedicated acceleration and trigonometric, co-processor allows for amazingly smooth and lifelike effects.
Sound System – Sounds are stored in raw PCM the LSD-X4's non-volatile RAM. The sound system constantly works in conjunction with the acceleration co-processor to precisely control the exact pitch, phase, and intensity based on the user's exact movements. A fully digital system such as this has never been commercially produced until now.
USB Connectivity – Simply connecting your LSD-X4 to your PC (MAC and IPhone versions have been proposed) into the LSD-X4 allows you to customize all features, timings, brightnesses and sound files for your system. Virtually all sound file formats are supported, the included software automatically converts all settings and files into the LSD-X4 optimized format. Recorded duels can be downloaded from the LSD-X4 and “replayed” graphically in 3-D on the computer screen with matching light and sound effects.
Calibration Modes – When in calibration mode, the LSD-X4 will analyze your typical duel style to automatically set optimal sensitivity settings. These settings are NOT thresholds, instead they are inertial compensation values which are specific to the exact weight of your light saber assembly and exact orientation. Auto calibration can be disabled and overrode in the event that you are unsatisfied with it's decision.
Downloading Updates – Via the Internet, by connecting your LSD-X4 to your computer with a USB cable, you can receive and install any updates that are made available as the product is refined and perfected over time. Backup your existing version in the event that you try the new version and wish to switch back. Updates are free!
The Official LSD-X4 Blog: Coming soon
>Check frequently for timing release, pictures, and status updates / revisions. Messaging and voting polls will allow user's to express feedback and ultimately solidify and fine tune the release design.
How much will this cost?
>Sure, this device packs a lot of power and functionality but end price has been a deciding factor from the start. It is our strong intentions to be cost effective with other sound boards on the market Our device will be vastly more powerful and capable in every physical way, but you wouldn't know it by the price.
Developers Welcome
>As previously stated, the LSD-X4 will be upgradeable over the Internet. However, we also want to allow the possibility of unofficial third party firmware to be installed and executed using our platform interface. The firmware shipped with the device will be open source and freely available to modifications. This will let developers quickly come up with new designs (including motion logic, sound control, light control, computer interface commands, and every other aspect of the LSD-X4's functionality) by starting from an existing fully formed program and changing it to their own. Developers are welcome to distribute the programs they create personally and commercially.
What's Next
>As progress proceeds additional newsletters will follow. Until next time,
Jesse Randall
Nova Conceptions
i cant wait. i think this will be brilliant and a good contribute to the saber world as there is huge soundboard crisis right now. its about time we got a good programable soundboard thats available.
ReplyDeleteI would like to hear some more "real" price estimations
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ReplyDeleteplease do make versions of it that are similar to the FX or makoto style boards, with the scrolling. Or you can just make all of them that way, those who want to power it with Luxeons can simply join the negative leads together themselves.
ReplyDeleteAlso I do hope that this will not turn out like SaberForge's Sabersound(bad communications/service etc)
Wow, I really love what is happening here. I can't wait for this new board. I really hope that it can dim the LED or strip set and compute flicker patterns that don't count on the US 2.5 method of turning the light on/off really fast. I think it should be like dimming and burning brightest like Makoto style sabers do and like I believe CF's do (but never seen one of them other than on video where they seem to do it right). Thanks for pursuing this idea, lightsaber enthusiasts need a new and good board! Thanks for also making it able to run a higher voltage, that is so key!
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