This project is at the heart of the research on musical instruments. Prototypes of musical instruments, or components of musical instruments, that can be used in concert have been produced in this project.  Work carried out includes a broadening of the range of mutes for brass instruments, studying a system for the automatic tuning of a kettledrum, the creation of a clarinet mouthpiece with a variable volume, and the creation of a bow and mouthpiece instrumented via several sensors.

In addition, IRCAM has designed and owns an instrumentarium of SmartInstruments (guitars, string quartet, bass clarinet, brass mutes) equipped with sensors and actuators with acoustic properties that a musician or composer can modify, and can diffuse sounds from a variety of sources without an external loudspeaker. This led to the realization of COALA, an embedded low-latency active control system for SmartInstruments.