Abstract: Embodiments of an electronic instrument simulating a percussion instrument using capacitive touch sensitive sensors are described herein. Embodiments described comprise an art layer, a sensor layer, a shielding layer, an electronics package and a speaker. The art layer has depictions of one or more percussion instruments. The sensor layer is deposed under the art layer. The sensor layer has one or more instrument sensors, each comprising one or more capacitive touch sensors. Instrument sensors are positioned underneath one of the depicted percussion instruments in the art layer so that a finger tapping the depicted instrument will trigger the sensor. The capacitive touch sensors are electrically connected to the electronics package configured to detect changes in capacitance when a particular capacitive touch sensor is touched, causing the electronics package to play on the speaker a sound sample of an percussion instrument associated with that capacitive touch sensor.

Abstract: Touch sensitive musical instruments are described herein including embodiments having: one-sided capacitive touch sensors with conductive ground planes, one-sided capacitive touch sensors with air gaps, one-sided capacitive touch sensors with separating material, and/or one-sided capacitive touch sensors including a combination of conductive ground planes, air gaps, and/or separating material. Embodiments of touch sensitive musical instruments simulating string instruments such as guitars are described.

Abstract: A system and a method for sensing the location of a remote object relative to a base object involve integrating inductive loop antennas with variable loop density into the base object and utilizing the antennas to transmit energy to and receive energy from an LC resonant circuit that is integrated into the remote object. The amplitude of a signal generated by the inductive loop antennas in response to energy received from the LC circuit identifies the location of the LC circuit relative to the antennas. Preferably, the sensing system is integrated into an electronic percussion instrument, where the keys of the instrument are formed with overlapping inductive loop antennas and the mallets used to activate the keys are formed with LC resonant circuits integrated into the mallet heads.