One ethical consideration in this project is the environmental impact of the hardware we are using. Our design relies on commercially available components (such as the Circuit Playground board, OLED display, and motor driver) from suppliers like Adafruit and Digi-Key. We do not have direct information about the full sustainability practices of these manufacturers, so we cannot claim that the device is “eco-friendly.” However, we try to reduce unnecessary waste by minimizing the number of parts, using reusable development boards, and designing the system so that components can be repurposed for future projects rather than discarded.
Power consumption and battery use also have environmental implications. Since the tuner is battery-powered, frequent battery replacement could contribute to electronic waste. As part of our design, we aim to keep the device’s power draw relatively low and encourage proper recycling or reuse of batteries and components after the project’s lifetime.
Another consideration is user privacy. Although this tuner processes audio signals from the guitar, our design does not store recordings, transmit data to external services, or log user information. All processing happens locally on the microcontroller, and there is no network connectivity. This reduces the risk of misuse of personal data or audio recordings and keeps the interaction between the user and the device self-contained.
Overall, while this is a small-scale class project, we acknowledge that hardware design has environmental and privacy implications, and we have tried to make choices that are transparent, minimally wasteful, and respectful of user data.
Introduction | Methods | Results | Schedule | Issues | Ethics | Accessibility | References