26 IN FOCUS Young Engineers Kenneth AU Chun-Ming MPhil in Computer Science and Engineering ( ) BEng in Computer Science ( ) I have had a strong interest in engineering, in particular so ware design and development, since I was young. I also love composing and producing pop music. The best tools for this second passion of mine are usually tailored for desktops. Indeed, in the past, trying to produce music on a mobile system has been a terrible experience. The smartphone UMix music app is my answer to that, a platform started together with fellow MPhil student Benjamin LAI whose enthusiasm for engineering, product design, and design thinking combines really well with my own outlook and abilities. The ultimate goal of our UMix music app is to let everyone create music easily, irrespective of age, background, and musical preferences. To do this, we needed to acquire the relevant development knowledge and skills in computer music, digital signal processing, and arti cial intelligence technology to come up with innovative audio processing algorithms that could accurately convert a voice to MIDI (a protocol for recording and playing back digital music supported by personal computer sound cards). This provided an intuitive way for users to compose simply by humming tunes, which could then be turned into di erent instrumental sounds, such as an acoustic guitar or flute, and mixed together. As HKUST has a great ecosystem for developing your own ideas, there were many opportunities for Benjamin and me to participate in engineering projects to acquire those skills as well as robotics and so ware design understanding, build our hands-on experience, and broaden our engineering thinking to encompass design and business perspectives. All this helped us to win a high-pro le Hong Kong ICT award in and, at the same time, turn our UMix music app into a start-up company. As a result of this amazing journey, our problem-solving skills have greatly increased. Many of the challenges we encountered along the way had no absolute answer. We simply had to keep thinking, trying, failing, evaluating, and trying again to overcome hurdles, whether researching and developing algorithms, designing the user interface, building the mobile app, working on business plans, or seeking funding. It further showed us that studying engineering is not limited to acquiring theoretical knowledge but also involves practical application of problem-solving skills to real-life issues. The School of Engineering certainly o ers students the environment and exposure to enjoy many valuable opportunities to explore and advance in both areas. UMix Music App Sounds great: mobile app creators Kenneth Au (left) and Benjamin Lai. Student Innovation Grand Award (Hong Kong ICT Awards )
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDk5Njg=