An Audio-Tactile Art Installation for Hearing Impaired People

This paper covers the design and development processes of a prototype for an audio-tactile installation with the aim of enhancing the music experience of hearing impaired people. The prototype consists of a wooden structure with cantilevered beams globally excited with two tactile transducers, so that people lying on the prototype can feel different vibrating bars at different positions of their body. The installation was designed as a first prototype for an exhibition in the Museum of Art and History of Geneva, Switzerland. In order to optimize the music perception through vibration sensing, the frequency response of the prototype was designed using numerical simulation. Once the prototype was built, vibration measurements were performed in order to assess its behaviour. A perception test with participants was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of the structure. The evaluation shown that the music experience was enhanced in the participants, a well as significant body distribution-dependency in the frequency response of the structure vibration.