Problem
Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.
Handpan
Low-cost
Open-source
MIDI interface
Musical instrument accessibility
DIY e-HandPan: A new DIY Low-Cost Handpan Interface based on Arduino and ESP32 Microcontrollers
🤖 AI Summary
This work proposes an open-source electronic handpan platform based on Arduino and ESP32 microcontrollers to address the high cost of traditional handpans and the lack of affordable, customizable interfaces suitable for education and research. The system employs piezoelectric sensors for dynamic strike detection, a dual-color LED array for real-time visual score guidance, and supports simultaneous audio and MIDI output. It features a highly modular architecture, configurable note layouts, and dual-MCU compatibility—innovations that collectively lower the barrier to entry for builders and educators. A functional prototype demonstrates strong expressiveness in performance and practical utility in pedagogical settings. Both hardware designs and software implementations have been fully open-sourced to foster community adoption and further development.
📝 Abstract
We present DIY e-HandPan, a new open-source, low-cost and customizable handpan audio and MIDI protocol interface designed for musical performance, education and research. The proposed hardware is built from inexpensive electronic components and recycled materials using widely available fabrication techniques, making it accessible to makers, educators and researchers. The instrument can be implemented on two distinct MicroController Unit (MCU): Arduino or ESP32. The microcontroller captures strike velocity to provide expressive musical performance comparable to that of an acoustic handpan. In addition to real-time audio and MIDI generation, DIY e-HandPan integrates a bi-color LED guidance system capable of displaying musical sequences from MIDI files, providing an effective learning aid for beginners and educational activities. The modular architecture allows users to easily customize the number of notes, hardware configuration and embedded software according to specific applications. We present the complete hardware design, firmware and assembly instructions and we discuss the design choices and limitations, to evaluate the system in representative educational and musical performance scenarios. All design files, source code and documentation are released under an open-source license to improve the reproducibility and encourage further developments by the open hardware community.
Innovation
Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.
DIY e-HandPan
low-cost interface
Arduino/ESP32
MIDI guidance system
modular design
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