Daisy in the Wild: COSMOLAB

COSMOLAB is an upcoming open-source modular kit for developing hardware synthesizers and effects units. The kit includes modules that can be connected together in different combinations to prototype audio devices flexibly and rapidly. These modules include: chromatic keyboard, 16 buttons, 8 potentiometers, OLED display, CV jacks, MIDI, and audio I/Os. At the heart of the main module is the Daisy Seed, an embedded platform for programming DSP algorithm in various languages such as C++, MaxMSP (gen~),  plugdata, and more.

Whether you’re a musician starting their journey into audio programming or a developer prototyping their next product, the goal of the COSMOLAB is to offer a flexible, accessible platform for designing audio devices to explore new sounds!

Interview with Francesco Mulassano

ES - Hi Francesco! We greatly appreciate your taking the time to chat with us. Let’s kick things off by getting to know your background

FM - Hello everyone, for those who don't know me, I'm Francesco Mulassano. I'm a bit over 40 years old and I'm from Turin, a city in Northern Italy. My journey began almost 40 years ago, with a guitar my mother gave me, hoping that as I grew up, I wouldn't spend my money on drugs. I must say it worked, because I spent it all on musical instruments!

Jokes aside, music has always been with me, first playing it in my teens, then dancing to it, then writing about it (in 2004 I opened my first website, ultrasonica.it, and wrote about music), then presenting it on the radio and in clubs. In the latter part of the 90s, my passion for electronic music began with Drum'n'Bass and IDM, which sparked a desire to understand synthesizers and related technologies more deeply. With a Moog Prodigy and a Yamaha RM1X, my thirst for knowledge began. All of this, of course, was self-taught in the pre-internet era. My formal education is in computer science; I was what they used to call a Webmaster, but in life, I've done many other jobs.

Since I'm quite lazy, I also started organizing events here in my city so I wouldn't have to travel abroad. This is how the first synthesis workshops and informal meetups were born, leading to the Torino Synth Meeting in 2011, which became Soundmit in 2017. It's a unique event in Italy; back then, meetups and vertical trade shows weren't common. We were the "Fathers" of all the events we see today. Over these 15 years, we've seen the market and the audience change a lot, and consequently, events of this type (at least here) are in a phase of revolution.

The step from 'instrument user' to 'instrument designer' was very natural because I always took things apart and put them back together at home as I was curious to know how things worked. With the advent of the internet in the late 90s, I became passionate about DIY and circuit bending. I'm a computer scientist, but I have a basic knowledge of electronics and many hours with a soldering iron in hand. Around 2018, my current partner, Alessandro Comanzo (the electronics expert of the pair), and I decided to give concrete form to this passion and created a company with several core businesses (though I dislike that word). Besides Soundmit, we have Faselunare (our brand) and Alphalab Audio, which in turn is divided into two: a repair and restoration laboratory for electronic musical instruments (which is doing very well) and a design studio where we design and engineer electronic musical instruments for ourselves and for other brands in the sector (like X Audio System), from which COSMOLAB was born.

ES - We also would love to hear about your involvement in the synth community in the recent years!

FM - The most significant experience is undoubtedly Soundmit. In these 15 years of activity, it has taught me a lot: how to organize large events (there was a time before COVID when our event was truly massive; we were even cited in a synthesis book as one of the European references!), how to interact with companies and the public, and it has brought me immense joy and also some pain. But the most important thing is that it allowed me to meet people who have become friends over time. For example, one evening in 2017, I was having dinner after Soundmit with some exhibitors, and sitting next to me was Jurgen Michaelis... JOMOX! One of those people I read about in magazines when I was younger, and now he's a good friend, and I can say the same for many others. Since entering this world, I've always tried to network and, in my small way, help new talents find their way around oscillators and filters. For a couple of years now, I've also been mentoring some very talented university students in Turin with great projects, who have come to Alphalab for advice on some thesis projects.

ES - What motivated you to develop COSMOLAB, a modular kit for creating audio devices?

FM - As I mentioned, at Alphalab, we often find ourselves needing to do R&D to find practical solutions for our ideas and our clients' requests. We felt the need to create a solid platform for our R&D department, and since we're a bit crazy, Alessandro and I decided to create a comprehensive project that would allow us to explore more options robustly. We were tired of being overwhelmed by wires and breadboards!

Once we had a first prototype, we realized how useful it was for us. It saves us a lot of time; we don't have to worry about the hardware but only about quickly validating the idea and proceeding with development. I must say that productivity has increased significantly, as has the fun.

So, if it's useful for us, we thought it could also be useful for other companies in the sector. At that point, a simple set of boards becomes COSMOLAB. However, the implications are manifold; they don't stop at supporting companies. Imagine all the university courses where they teach DSP, signal theory, C++, and microcontrollers, or conservatories where they work with PureData and Max/MSP. Generally, these students lack familiarity with hardware. With COSMOLAB, you solve many of their problems! And it's the same for the maker world; its open-source nature lends itself very well to expansion with other boards. And what if you're a musician who doesn't know how to program? We will offer a portal with downloadable applications, and we'll open it up to other developers if COSMOLAB is successful.

ES - Can you tell us more about the development journey and the teammates who were part of it.

FM - We started using Daisy seriously (although we already had some Seeds and a Pod from the Kickstarter campaign) when we had to work on a project for a client (XTRIKE). To avoid wasting time with breadboards and flying circuits, we decided to create a small development board. However, we soon realized it would be better and more sensible to have a few more controls. We were inspired by the Daisy Field for the initial part and then added another 16 illuminated buttons and illuminated potentiometers (so each board has 16 LEDs). We then chose to make a modular system so we could connect only what we needed. At that point, we realized that having a complete, organized, and even well-designed kit could also be useful for ergonomics. I then designed the dimensions and placement of the boards and the arrangement of physical components like pots, LEDs, and knobs. Subsequently, Alessandro designed all the electronics. Besides the design, I also handle the software integration part.

XTrike then required the use of two Daisys, and that's where Lorenzo came in, one of our collaborators who developed a communication protocol between the two units. Lorenzo also took care of optimizing the XTrike software, which was conceived and written by Charles from X-Audio System, with whom we've collaborated in the past on other projects.

ES - How did you discover Daisy, and what drew you to it for the development of COSMOLAB?

FM - We are very attentive, of course, to everything happening in the world of electronic music, and we had participated in the crowdfunding campaign a few years ago. In the past, we have also used, and still use, other MCUs like the Teensy 4.1 (which you can find on our Faselunare Vega Eurorack module) or the RP2040 for smaller projects. What struck me about Daisy is its level of integration with software like PlugData and Max/MSP. I find that the ability to program without writing code can be an accelerator for developing new ideas in the physical world for those who don't have C++ programming skills, for example. This connects back to music conservatories where these languages are taught, but where there's almost never a background in classical programming. We therefore chose the Daisy Seed for COSMOLAB for these integrations, and also because we've seen it's a platform that is expanding among established instrument manufacturers, not just in the hobbyist and research sectors.

ES - We would love to learn more about the programmer website featured in the trailer.

FM - At the moment, the programmer you see in the video is functional and in 'demo' mode with some firmware we've prepared, which are ports of the examples provided by Electrosmith, plus some of our original creations. You can try it out right away at this address: https://webdfu.alphalab.audio.

Currently, it's static code, but if the Indiegogo campaign goes well and there's interest in COSMOLAB, the idea is to create a system where users can share their firmware and, why not, build a community, even though it's very difficult to do so today.

Furthermore, it's the access point to COSMOLAB for those who are not programmers but want to experiment without coding. I envision a musician who finds a synth algorithm interesting for their music, or even someone who buys COSMOLAB and can't wait to try it as soon as they open the box. In fact, no additional software needs to be installed; Google Chrome is enough.

I'd also add that this programmer we've developed can be very useful for companies that have a product made with Daisy and want to offer a simple and modern way to update the firmware. When it's ready, we can offer it as a service to businesses.

ES - For those new to audio programming, how do you envision COSMOLAB supporting the learning process? Do you have any plans for tutorials and other education initiatives?

FM - We plan to offer guides and tutorials dedicated to COSMOLAB on our website, both to explain how the hardware works in case someone wants to create custom boards, and from a software perspective with simple beginner guides for C++, PureData, and Max/MSP. Always with an eye on the community, we'd be very happy to collaborate with other programmers to create tutorials and firmware for distribution. We've also already had contact with some universities and interested groups to whom we can offer in-person training courses.

ES - And for seasoned developers, how can they use COSMOLAB to prototype new products?

FM - This is the really interesting part. Since COSMOLAB is open-source—meaning when we start distributing it, it will have its own Git repository with all the software, schematics, and software examples—anyone creating a synth, an FX unit, a sequencer, or anything else within this microcosm can directly design their own compatible hardware with their own design and decide whether to release it open-source or try to create a marketable product.
And for those who don't have the know-how to turn it into a product, they can interface with us at Alphalab Audio. Our job is to transform an idea into a reproducible and, hopefully, marketable product. We can design the UI, the enclosure, and of course, all the electronics from prototype to production.

ES - Because COSMOLAB is open-source, we are sure that an exciting new community will bloom. What kind of community would you like to see grow around it?

FM - I would love to see many young people working on COSMOLAB, getting their hands on the hardware, and trying to find their own path with it. Whether it's becoming instrument manufacturers, sound designers, or future educators. We've always championed the open-source world and want to continue contributing to it, and we hope the community will follow us.

ES - Beyond the Indiegogo campaign, what other future plans do you have for COSMOLAB that we can look forward to?

FM - For now, we want to see how the campaign goes. It's currently in pre-launch on Indiegogo, and by making a reservation, you can purchase the full kit for €500 instead of €700 (which will be approximately the retail price at the end of the campaign). We will open the actual campaign in mid-October, immediately after participating in Maker Faire Rome, where we will present COSMOLAB to a potential audience of 20,000 people. At that point, there will be some full kits at an Early Bird price, and then the normal full kits, but still at an exclusive campaign price. We have also planned educational bundles with 5 full kits included! After the campaign ends, the hardware will be sold through our website, Faselunare.com.
Apart from this, our intention is to follow the Daisy community (your Discord and forum are indispensable) and continue software development so that COSMOLAB is compatible with all upcoming innovations, such as Rust and RNBO, for example.

Conclusion

It's exciting to learn that COSMOLAB began as a personal development tool for prototyping products. This speaks volumes about its practical value for audio hardware developers. And with Francesco's plans in educational initiatives, COSMOLAB is also gearing up to be an accessible resource for those starting their audio development journey!

If you're interested in keeping updated about COSMOLAB, check out the Indiegogo page as well as Francesco's Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube accounts.