The model includes an audio-tactile algorithm that transforms monophonic music into tangible stimuli based on vibration making use of “tactile illusions.”
An audio-tactile algorithm created by University of Malaga scientists communicates melodic information through vibration.
A ground-breaking model established by specialists from the Department of Electronics at the University of Malaga and members of the R&D group “Electronics for Instrumentation and Systems,” will allow those with hearing loss to listen to music through the sense of touch.
It includes an audio-tactile algorithm that transforms monophonic music into concrete stimuli based on vibration using “tactile impressions.” According to the researchers, “Its like hacking the nerve system to receive a different action to the real stimulus sent.”
” What we desire to attain in the long term is for people who do not hear to be able to listen to music”, guarantees researcher Paul Remache, the primary author of this paper, who insists on the power of music to influence state of mind, along with its possibilities as a therapy for mental illness and treatment of discomfort.
The researchers forecast that this will cause a portable terminal that may be brought to a concert given that this prototype will be easily transferable to technological devices like smart devices.
Scientists of the Department of Electronics have established an audio-tactile algorithm that communicates melodic information through vibration. Credit: University of Malaga
Mapping music
This young researcher, dealing with teachers Andrés Trujillo and Fernando Vidal from the UMA, established an algorithm that can transform musical features and structures drawn from MIDI files– Musical Instrument Digital Interface– into “vibrotactile stimuli.”
The very first experiments proved that “tactile illusions” viewed through vibration provoke in people who do not hear a various psychological action– mostly favorable– from that of the initial music. Credit: University of Malaga
” Its something comparable to mapping music”, discusses Remache, who includes that this is possible due to the fact that this kind of file not just can be played and produce sound, but likewise provide “symbolic representations”.
Controlling vibrations
Current designs do not require the correspondence in between the emotional response to music and the vibrotactile version of it. In view of this, these engineers of the UMA propose an arrangement of the “tactile illusions” in order to extend the spectrum and enhance of musical functions, adding dynamics to the vibration in the kind of motion, turnabouts, and location.
” It is a challenging procedure because the noticeable frequency variety of the skin is lower than that of the acoustic system, which may cause the loss of some musical features”, they explain.
Individuals with hearing loss will have the ability to listen to music through the sense of touch thanks to a pioneering prototype that has actually been designed by scientists of the Department of Electronics of the University of Malaga Credit: University of Malaga.
Different emotional reaction
The outcomes of the very first experiments, in which more than fifty volunteers participated, indicate that the plan of “tactile impressions” elicits more positive than unfavorable feelings. They are likewise viewed as more revitalizing and acceptable than the audio, provoking a different emotional action from that of the original music.
Smart instrumentation and application in healthcare
This very first prototype existed in the 11th International Workshop on Haptic & & Audio Interaction Design (United Kingdom)– the biggest worldwide occasion focused on these areas of study– after being released in the clinical journal LNCS. At present, the scientists of the UMA are working on a 2nd model and continuing with the experiments.
The research study is the product of Paul Remaches doctoral thesis and is part of the National Plan project “Smart instrumentations and application in health care.”
Referral: “Mapping Monophonic MIDI Tracks to Vibrotactile Stimuli Using Tactile Illusions” by Byron Remache-Vinueza, Andrés Trujillo-León, Maria-Alena Clim, Fabián Sarmiento-Ortiz, Liliana Topon-Visarrea, Alexander Refsum Jensenius and Fernando Vidal-Verdú, 18 August 2022, Lecture Notes in Computer Science.DOI: 10.1007/ 978-3-031-15019-7_11.
