The bizarre Suzuki Omnichord looks a bit like a prop from a weird 80s sci-fi show, but is in fact a real instrument, developed to create harp-like arpeggios, and first introduced in 1981, then re-introduced as the OM-108 in 2024.

Those familiar with its odd shape and interface will see immediate echoes in Benjamin Poilve’s open-source minichord synthesizer.

The pocket-sized instrument allows anyone to create pleasant-sounding chord progressions, without requiring extensive knowledge of music theory. Strumming the “harp touch zone” allows any of twelve notes to be triggered and, with continued contact, held. The Teensy 4.0-based instrument can also act as a MIDI device over USB. Having won Seeed’s Co-Create competition, the minichord is now available for purchase. The hardware and firmware to build your own is available on GitHub, and excellent assembly instructions and a user manual can be found on the project’s web site. You can also connect with the project creator on the PJRC forums.

We’ve all dreamed of flight, but Nick Rehm’s dRehmFlight VTOL brings that dream closer for hobbyists and hackers looking to get their weird contraptions airborne.

Based on a Teensy 4.0 plus TDK MPU-6050 six-axis IMU, the project is intended to teach flight control and stabilization concepts, rather than competing with more specific platforms.

Out of the box, dRehmFlight VTOL supports six speed controllers over OneShot125, with a further seven PWMs for servos or traditional ESCs. The code is extensively documented in order to facilitate learning, and a further 72 pages of documentation, as well as extensive YouTube tutorials and examples make getting started as quick and painless as possible.

Yang Zhang, Wolf Kienzle, Yanjun Ma, Shiu S. Ng, Hrvoje Benko, and Chris Harrison have created ActiTouch: robust touch detection for on-skin AR/VR interfaces. Instead of traditional handheld controllers, the system uses the body as an input device.

A smartwatch-style wristband contains a Kinetis K20 microcontroller running firmware prototyped with Teensy and a AD5930 waveform generator, as well as a LiPo battery to power the system. Electrodes on the wrist and headset, combined with computer vision enables both high tracking precision and robust touch detection, permitting touchscreen-like interactions on the wearer’s own skin. Learn more on Chris’s web site, in the original paper, or in the video below.

Adrian wanted to create a silly surprise for their friend and avid player of the rhythm game OSU!, with the bonus goal of getting a chance to learn about electronics. The result of this was an adorable two-key keyboard based around a Teensy.

Combining some spare keyboard switches and a 3d-printed case and caps with Teensy’s built-in Human Interface Device (HID) mode, the gag gift gives off a surprisingly professional vibe, not to mention a fair number of laughs. Despite being intended as a joke, the keyboard could be useful for video editing, or … using Stack Overflow!

Aaron Todd is the eponymous hacker behind the One Hacker Band — a social media sensation that uses electronics to make musical instruments play themselves via MIDI. Guitars, percussion, a Novation keyboard, vocals — OHB’s got it all, and it’s all powered by Teensy!

Aaron takes us behind the scenes of the band’s servo-controlled self-playing keyboard in the video below:

We’ll be taking a deeper dive into some of the individual instruments, but for now, check them out on all the socials, and enjoy this cover of Come as You Are by Nirvana!

YouTuber James Bruton wanted to create a prosthetic arm with natural control. At first, the idea was to use a brain-computer interface, but obtaining reliable data this way proved more difficult than expected.

So James pivoted to using machine learning to train the arm to mimic his real arm based on the position and posture of other parts of his body — using a bunch of Teensy boards while he was at it!

The motion capture solution is based on five Teensy LC boards with TDK MPU-6050 six-axis gyro/accelerometer sensors for motion, with the four “limb” units also adding AMS AS5047 magnetic rotary position sensors for joint position. A central Teensy 4.1 connected to each of them orchestrates data collection. Dynamixel servo actuators power the arm using an Arduino MKR-style shield connected to the 4.1. After training the system using all of his real limbs, James then swapped in the 3d-printed prosthetic for his right arm, and it continued to mimic the poses used in training, as you can see in the video below!

The C-Thru Music AXiS-49 plug n play music interface was a velocity sensitive MIDI input device designed for composing and arranging music. Ben Glover’s Midihex is a new MIDI controller inspired by the AXiS-49, with 98 playing keys and an additional five function keys.

What the original device unique is the 49-note, 98-key harmonic table layout, which facilitates playing and composition along traditional interval sequences. Ben’s design uses Hall-effect sensors, enabling not just note velocity, but also the more expressive MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE), meaning timbre, pitch, amplitude, and other parameters could be modulated. The Midihex is based on the Teensy 4.1, with open-source firmware, allowing customization of the layout to use for example Wicki-Hayden, or microtonal scales such as Bohlen-Pierce or 31-TET. Find out more on the project’s web site, and see a demo in the video below.

Robert Xiao, Gierad Laput, Yang Zhang and Chris Harrison have used a Teensy to prototype Deus EM Machina: on-touch contextual functionality for smart IoT appliances.

In a world of increasingly app-controlled devices (I need three different apps just to turn my lights off at night, for example!), what was once a convenience soon becomes overbearing. The Deus EM Machina system augments a regular smartphone with a large copper antenna and a custom PCB, which amplifies electromagnetic (EM) emissions from electronic devices, allowing a custom background service on the phone to identify them and launch the appropriate app. In their study, they demonstrated identification of appliances with 98.8% accuracy. Learn more on Chris’s web site, in the original paper, or in the video below.

Dylan Brophy aka Nuclaer Tech has created a Teensy 4.1 carrier board called the Teensy 4.1 Computer, which equips the microcontroller with SBC-like ports and form factor.

Four USB ports, an Ethernet jack, and high-quality audio output make it ideal for synths, game consoles, computer emulation, and other highly-connected projects.

In addition to the typical Arduino-based development workflow, the board supports Teensy NTIOS, an Arduino-based operating system, complete with shell. Other features include a TI TUSB2046B
four-port USB 2.0 12-Mbps hub, 1A+ per port with overload protection, and a PCM5102 stereo DAC and OPA1688 low-distortion op-amp to deliver optimal audio to the onboard 3.5mm audio jack.

The assembled board is available on Tindie, with detailed specs and schematics on the project wiki. The Teensy NTIOS source can be found on the project’s GitLab server.

Michael Horn has designed and programmed a beguiling LED art installation in coordination, Refractions, with fabricators MGA Sculpture Studios. Five 7×5′ panels with embedded lighting create the illusion of waves along the static metal sculpture.

Five Teensy 4.0 boards coordinate the animation of 35′ long WS2815 strips, which recreate rippling water based on a video, but with additional randomization and enhancement to simulate a much higher frame count than memory would allow. More detail and pictures can be found on Michel’s and MGA’s respective web sites, and the project’s evolution and spellbinding culmination can be enjoyed below.