Cutaneous Grooves: Composing for the Sense of Touch

Abstract

What if the traditional relationship between touch and music was essentially turned upside down, making the tactile sensation the aesthetic end? This paper presents a novel coupling of haptics technology and music, introducing the notion of tactile composition or aesthetic composition for the sense of touch. A system that facilitates the composition and perception of intricate, musically structured spatio-temporal patterns of vibration on the surface of the body is described. Relevant work from disciplines including sensory substitution, electronic musical instrument design, simulation design, entertainment technology, and visual music is considered. The psychophysical parameter space for our sense of touch is summarized and the building blocks of a compositional language for touch are explored. A series of concerts held for the skin and ears is described, as well as some of the lessons learned along the way. In conclusion, some potential evolutionary branches of tactile composition are posited.

Vibrotactile letter reading using a low-resolution tactor array

“…Gunther et al [11] also developed a suit-type vibrotactile display, to be used as a device for "tactual visualization" of music. They placed 12 high-frequency tactors on the shoulders, elbows, wrists, thighs, knees, and ankles, and one low-frequency tactor on the back.…”

“…Existing suit-type vibrotactile displays such as those by Yano et al [9] and Gunther et al [11] aim at the whole body, but the density of stimulating points in these systems was sparse (or discrete). On the other hand, the approaches by Tan et al [6][7][8], Rupert [12], and Yang et al [14] could be regarded as attempts to provide "analog" sensation at the locations of stimulation points, although the target regions only cover a limited area on the body surface.…”

Crossmodal Audio and Tactile Interaction with Mobile Touchscreens

“…100% identification rates were achieved when 4 or 5 levels with intervals of at least 0.15 seconds were used. Vibrotactile stimuli lasting less than 0.1 seconds are perceived as taps or jabs against the skin [54]. Differences in duration enable rhythmic structures to be created.…”

Compressibility and Crushability Reproduction through an Amorphous Haptic Interface

“…Exceptions include devices based on vibrators stitched into garments [4], or airborne energy transport [5]. In everyday life, however, haptic interaction often takes the form of squeezing objects to inspect their internal state and structure (e.g., "what's the pressure in my bike tires", compressibility; or "how much coffee is left in the bag?…”