Vibrotactile Sleeve to Improve Music Enjoyment of Cochlear Implant Users

Abstract

This study presents a new design of a wearable vibrotactile device — a tactile sleeve consisting of three voice coil actuators (Model: Lofelt L5). The device was made within an R&D project aimed at developing a wearable for enhancing the music perception of cochlear implant recipients. The aim is to provide tactile stimulation in addition to the cochlear implant stimulation — generating an audio-tactile music experience. We also present the results of an experiment performed to investigate whether the sleeve can be used to identify songs from tactile stimulation and investigate the effects of different encodings. Five short music segments were used, and the tactile stimulation provided by each voice coil actuator conveyed song information (Bass or drum). Participants had intact hearing. At the beginning of the experiment, the participants listened to one song via headphones. Afterward, they were presented with various tactile encodings of the songs in random order. Their task was to identify the encoding of the song that was played. In this experiment, an investigation of the best combination of information from the bass versus drums was conducted. The results confirm that the sleeve can provide tactile stimulation that can be used to identify songs without audio. The results also provide insights into which encodings are most useful for conveying music.

Discrimination Accuracy of Sequential Versus Simultaneous Vibrotactile Stimulation on the Forearm

“…Our research group has delved deeply into vibrotactile stimulation properties, especially in sensory augmentation devices [7,8,[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. One notable system that we have developed is the "The Sound of Vision" sensory substitution platform for the visually impaired.…”

Effects of Stimulus Frequency and Location on Vibrotactile Discrimination Performance Using Voice Coil Actuators on the Forearm

“…One recent development in the field of haptic displays is the use of tactile arrays in the form of wearable sleeves. These sleeves are designed to contain a relatively large array of vibrotactile actuators that can be used to deliver complex and nuanced haptic information to the wearer [14][15][16][17][18]. Such applied use calls for precise understanding of how reliable the perception of the vibrotactile information is and the resolution afforded by vibrotactile displays.…”

“…Furthermore, the use of the forearm as a location for delivering vibrotactile feedback is generally well-tolerated by users, making it a practical and effective option for a wide range of applications [38]. A number of studies are available where vibrotactile stimuli have been delivered to the volar forearm, and various actuator types and parameters have been used [1,16,17,34,39,40].…”

“…Our research team has, in recent years, developed a series of vibrotactile displays, including the vibrotactile sleeve we examined in this study [1,12,16,17,37]. These displays have the potential to provide a vast amount of information to low-activity areas of the body, freeing up the hands for other tasks.…”

“…These displays have the potential to provide a vast amount of information to low-activity areas of the body, freeing up the hands for other tasks. This research has involved the investigation of several properties of vibrotactile stimulation in the context of sensory augmentation and sensory substitution [9,12,16,17,[42][43][44].…”