1977 Computone Inc. (Massachusetts) — Bill Bernardi (inventor), Roger Noble (co-engineer)

Lyricon / Wind Synthesizer Driver

The first electronic wind controller, where blowing a light beam makes an analog voltage

HCIMusicInputWind ControllerOpticalPre-MIDI

Overview

Deep dive

Team & pioneers

Bill Bernardi. Inventor of the Lyricon, filed patent US3767833 (filed 1971, granted 1973).
Roger Noble. Co-engineer on the Lyricon.
Computone Inc. Massachusetts-based manufacturer, produced ~200 units from 1974 to 1980.

Media

Computone Wind Synthesizer Driver controller — The Computone Wind Synthesizer Driver controller (CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons).

Lyricon Wind Synthesizer Controller, left side — Lyricon Wind Synthesizer Controller, left side showing controls (CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons).

Lyricon Wind Synthesizer Controller, middle detail — Lyricon Wind Synthesizer Controller, middle detail showing the mouthpiece and controls (CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons).

Sources