A Wireless Vibration Suit Helps the Deaf “Feel” Music
Developed by Not Impossible Labs, the suit translates sounds into a cascade of vibrations, with different instruments registering in different zones across the body. Music: Not Impossible started with the premise of providing a better live music concert experience for the deaf and hard of hearing. They wanted to create something to empower them to enjoy music in a whole new way. http://musicnotimpossible.com/
After almost 3 years of continuous research and development they have engineered a complete platform for composing, translating and sending audio as vibrations wirelessly to the users’ bodies. What they learned along the way is that while MNI definitely makes it easier for the deaf and hard of hearing to experience music, it is also very enjoyable for everyone else.
The system is comprised of a set of wearable devices, software, hardware, and wireless communication. The wearables set includes a vest, two wrist, and two ankle bands supplying 8 areas of vibration across the user’s body, making for a surround body experience. It has evolved to provide three different vibratory translations of music:
Live Concert Mode: Can create a vibratory translation of live music in real time. Each instrument can be assigned to a different part of the user’s body while being customizable to deliver the most engaging experience.
Personal Mode: you can play a song through your mobile device, the vibrations are dynamically spread across the user’s body.Composer Mode: Can create vibratory versions of songs that go beyond simply matching the instrumentation to provide a fully immersive and parallel experience. It is a completely new artistic medium for composers.
We think this is an amazing technology and hope to see many people wearing the suit on dance floors in the future!
We stumbled upon an article from Hyper Allergic, where Brendan Smith actually tested out the system. Check out his article at: https://hyperallergic.com/390405/a-wireless-vibration-suit-helps-the-deaf-feel-music/
