A Comparison of Open-Source Linux Frameworks for an Augmented Musical Instrument Implementation

The increasing availability of accessible sensor technologies, single board computers, and prototyping platforms have resulted in a growing number of frameworks explicitly geared towards the design and construction of Digital and Augmented Musical Instruments. Developing such instruments can be facilitated by choosing the most suitable framework for each project. In the process of selecting a framework for implementing an augmented guitar instrument, we have tested three Linux-based open-source platforms that have been designed for real-time sensor interfacing, audio processing, and synthesis. Factors such as acquisition latency, workload measurements, documentation, and software implementation are compared and discussed to determine the suitability of each environment for our particular project.