When Sergey Antonovich, an embedded systems engineer, rediscovered his childhood passion for music, he began crafting bespoke digital accordions. Despite initially losing interest in the instrument chosen for him by his mother at age eight, Antonovich’s journey through electronics led him to combine his two passions in unexpected ways.
Growing up in Chekhov, a town near Moscow, Antonovich experienced a relatively ordinary upbringing. His father passed away when he was just one year old, and he was raised by his mother and grandmother, who fostered his education. At eight, he began taking music lessons and learned to play the accordion, though he left the instrument behind during his teenage years as his focus shifted to electronics.
By the age of fifteen, Antonovich had developed a keen interest in tinkering with gadgets, attending after-school classes where he learned to solder and construct basic electronic devices. This newfound enthusiasm guided him toward a technical secondary school, followed by enrollment at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute in 2004. He opted for a program that blended hardware, software, and digital-signal processing, leading him to a career that would eventually span multiple industries.
After graduating in 2010, Antonovich joined Ecosfera, a company specializing in environmental and labor safety measurement devices. There, he designed hardware and software to monitor conditions such as temperature and humidity, ensuring compliance with strict regulatory standards. Over the years, he gained experience across various domains, including medical devices and sensors for commercial drones.
In 2021, he transitioned to Yandex, Russia’s leading internet company, to work on its autonomous vehicle program. His initial impressions of self-driving cars were transformative, as he witnessed the technology firsthand. Following a corporate restructuring, Yandex’s autonomous vehicle division became Avride, prompting Antonovich to relocate to its new headquarters in Austin, Texas, in 2024.
At Avride, Antonovich focuses on the data that underpins the vehicle’s perception algorithms, utilizing radar and lidar sensors. His role involves developing diagnostic systems to ensure these sensors operate seamlessly, maintaining low latency in data processing to guarantee safety in self-driving technology.
The move to the United States has also allowed Antonovich to pursue his musical interests more freely. In 2017, he noticed the emergence of digital accordions and was inspired to modify his own acoustic instrument. By combining his engineering skills with his musical background, he set out to address common issues faced by digital accordions, such as bulkiness and cumbersome wiring.
Starting with an acoustic model, he integrated a synthesizer, internal microphones, and wireless transmitters, enabling performers to move freely on stage. Antonovich discovered parallels between his work on self-driving vehicles and his instrument designs, particularly in managing latency within the signal-processing chain. He emphasized the importance of keeping sound production time below ten milliseconds to ensure a comfortable playing experience.
Today, Antonovich has developed a variety of both hybrid acoustic-digital and fully digital accordions. While he has crafted instruments for friends, he is not eager to commercialize his creations. “Making them a commercial product will turn my curiosity into necessity,” he noted, reflecting on how pursuing a hobby for profit could diminish its joy.
Through his unique blend of engineering and artistry, Antonovich illustrates how diverse interests can converge, creating unexpected opportunities and innovations. His story serves as a reminder that passion can drive both personal fulfillment and professional advancement, even in seemingly unrelated fields.
