Tiltone

Year

2025

Context

University

Collaborators

Florentine Moser

Tools

Fusion360, KiCad

Area

Product / Industrial Design

Project Summary

Tiltone is a motion controlled device, that offers new and innovative ways of interacting with sound by tilting and rotating the device. The device enables beginners a less intimidating entry into music, by giving them a more immersive way of interacting with music compared to traditional controls. This product was developed during the "Audio Interface Design" course led by Angelica Tavella in the Summer Semester 2025.

Tiltone Demo Video

Exploded View

Exploded View

Instructions

Instructions

Components

Manufacturing

We fully built the device ourselves. After iterating on case shape and size, we CNC-machined it from recycled plastic. Buttons were resin-printed and spray-painted, while a custom-designed PCB unified all components - paired with an aluminum top plate for a premium finish.

Design Thinking Process

Design Thinking Process

Design Thinking

A significant portion of the course centered on Design Thinking to develop our concept. We focused on market research, user interviews, and integrating essential features into a simple yet effective layout.

Visual feedback in TouchDesigner

Visual Feedback

Interviews made it clear that users needed some form of feedback to understand how much a control was being adjusted. With insufficient time to integrate a vibration motor, we developed visual feedback using TouchDesigner to indicate a control's position within a two-dimensional coordinate system.

Key Insights

Having no prior experience in digital music production was a challenge, but an enjoyable learning journey throughout. The project proved highly rewarding, diving into new areas like PCB design, CNC machining, Design Thinking, and a user-oriented approach.