SeattleLofts I

SeattleLofts

Feature


The Making Of

Fall

Press play. Play. Unlock. Seek. Play. Unlock. Seek. It’s the routine I had followed when learning to play songs on the guitar. I’d press play in the Spotify app, practice the segment, unlock my phone, and seek back to the beginning. It’s a ten second process, that when compounded over the course of learning an entire song, adds up to an unbearable amount of time.

Some things are best left to a physical interface: enter SeattleLofts I. Inspired by the digital track bar that has become so ubiquitous in media players everywhere, the SeattleLofts I takes this familiar pattern and turns it analog. It is a Spotify console - one that displays what’s currently playing, mechanically progresses the track bar, and enables someone to skip around in a song without missing a beat.

Special thanks to Lampemm whose work inspired the outer design. Photos by Tim Neumann.

Bahamas Front Radiohead Tycho TheShins UsingClose Me!

The Making Of

I took advantage of many resources to get this built. The SeattleLofts I is made of walnut purchased at Crosscut Hardwoods, and was handmade at the Capitol Hill Tool Library in Seattle WA. The hardware is supported by a RaspberryPi Zero W, is programmed in Java, and leverages the Pi4J library. Three track bar knobs were designed in Sketchup, and 3D printed at Shapeways. Components (RaspberryPi, motorized slide potentiometer, and 2x16 black and white LCD) were purchased at Sparkfun Elecronics.

Find below some pictures that illustrate the making of:

Potentiometer PaperInside PaperOutside SketchA SketchB SketchB AWood Stain Inside

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