Copyright© Françoise Herrmann
The latest Internet-connected and haptic technology-enabled piece of fashionwear from CuteCircuit is the Music Shirt™. Nominated one of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Inventions of the Year, on November 19, 2020, the CuteCircuit Music Shirt™ enables wearers to immerse themselves into music, and deaf wearers in particular, to feel the sounds of music.
Using the principles of actuator technology, also invoked to mastermind the Hug Shirt™, the Music Shirt™ is equipped with sixteen actuator motors that generate varying vibrations and pulses, according to sounds. Thus, the Music Shirt™ algorithm is able to translate music sounds, captured and recorded digitally, into strategically placed vibrations on a Bluetooth®-connected Music Shirt™, enabling wearers, deaf in particular, to experience music viscerally. For example, an orchestra floor is mapped into different recording sections, the converted sounds of which will be distributed variously on a Bluetooth®-connected Music Shirt™. As a result, sensations of the lowest drum sounds are translated into vibrations felt in the abdomen area, while all the higher frequency sounds of flutes and violins are felt as vibrations on the upper body, including the intensities and variations of rhythm and beat.
The Music Shirt™ is available for individual purchase,
and at various music venues, offering an immersive music experience. For example, the following YouTube video shows several deaf wearers' haptic experiences, in
collaboration with the Junge Symphoniker Hamburg, in Germany.
The CuteCircuit Music Shirt™ was created by Francesca Rosella (Italy) and Ryan Genz (USA), founders of the pioneering, wearable technology, fashion brand company CuteCircuit. The Music Shirt™ functions using the Hug Shirt™ app, where users might select music pieces to playback on a Bluetooth®-connected Music Shirt™. The Music Shirt™ also functions using the QPro music software, enabling musicians to create music that includes the haptic sensory experience of the Music Shirt™.
The patent-pending Music Shirt™ invention
arises at the intersection of several patented domains such as 3D Spatial
Audio, Haptics for Augmented Reality, Interactive Luminous Garments,
Multimedia Wearable Telecommunication Devices, and Sensor Enhanced Fabric
constructions.
References
CuteCircuit https://cutecircuit.com/
CuteCircuit
sound shirt – Feel the music -- Time
Magazine 100 Best inventions in 2020. https://time.com/collection/best-inventions-2020/5911419/cutecircuit-soundshirt/
Meyer, D. (May 18, 2016), A new shirt can help deaf people feel music. Fortune.com. https://fortune.com/2016/05/18/cutecircuit-sound-shirt/
QPro music
software tools
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