In an interview at NAMM, ROLI’s head of products Tom Ford envisioned a not-too-distant future when every piano would have a camera on it.
Claiming it not to be purely a marketing tagline for ROLI’s new Piano and AI-learning through app combined with the Airwave, he suggested that no-one would bat an eyelid (or perhaps flick a hand?) at a piano or other keyboard instrument having at least one onboard camera, in order to use it for training and learning, AI-assisted feedback on playing technique, and so on.
He suggests that no-one would buy a laptop or a mobile phone without a camera. The trouble is, in this world of increased security issues, that might be something where the tide is turning.
The ROLI Piano and Airwave system is admirable, but I don’t think this is something which should become ubiquitous. Performers and learners like may like the ability to have their hands captured and recorded on camera, but what happens when the system is hacked? Doomsaying perhaps, but the more devices are online, listening and watching, the greater the risk of nefarious players becoming involved.
Do you really want the possibility of your child’s learning being watched by a hacker online?
Maybe this is a knee-jerk reaction. I just don’t see the need to add more methods of Internet connectivity to otherwise innocuous devices. At least there should be the choice. And if not, I suppose there’s still squares duct tape for sticking over camera lenses.
