The emoti-chair: an interactive tactile music exhibit

In this abstract, we present the Emoti-Chair, a sensory substitution system that brings a high resolution audio-tactile version of music to the body. The system can be used to improve music accessibility for deaf or hard of hearing people, while offering everyone the chance to experience sounds as tactile sensations. The model human cochlea (MHC) is the sensory substitution system that drives the Emoti-Chair. Music can be experienced as a tactile modality, revealing vibrations that originate from different instruments and sounds spanning the audio frequency spectrum along multiple points of the body. The system uses eight separate audio-tactile channels to deliver sound to the body, and provides an opportunity to experience a broad range of musical elements as physical vibrations.