A New “Self-Tuning” “Microtonal” Piano?

A British composer claims to have “revolutionised” the design of the piano. The instrument has until now relied on “only 88 notes from their 88 keys. This limitation has made the piano’s ‘fixed tuning’ unable to cope with the differing scales of Persian, Chinese and Indian music. Mr Smith’s device could open up whole new markets for the instrument in places where it has previously been seen as an expensive piece of western furniture. The innovation threatens to make professional piano tuning defunct, since players will be able to perform ‘user-friendly’ corrections to their instrument themselves, possibly while they are playing.”