Engineering the future

From state-of-the-art laser fabrication facilities, a computer science department with a passion for music, cutting-edge audio production facilities and the city's resident robotics lab… constructing this instrument has offered us a glimpse into the not-too-distant future.

It is at this point, as we lay down the finishing touches, trialing, tweaking and tuning the final details, I realise that 'we' has now become 'they', as in the time honored question… "Have you heard, they are making/developing/breeding a new strain/design/type/etc of cauliflower/hovercraft/spacemonkey/et al."

Have you heard, they're developing a new musical instrument?

Ultimately the final working period is still cut out for us, endless lines of code, adding new circuitry, pressing and de-pressing resistive pads while slowly bringing all of this into alignment with tangible musical outputs.

However, the results are becoming palpable, despite the inevitable process of having to take everything apart just to rewire one component, and then having to do the same thing again, and then again. The engineers sense of undying commitment to the task in hand, has possessed us. The colossal and continuing effort to make the musical instrument of tomorrow, does have an end, which from here, is just about in sight.