Vibrotactile

[Mari Jones <jones.80@xxxxxxx>]

>Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 22:34:10 -0500
>From: Howard Connelly <hog@tidalwave.net>
>Subject: Vibrotactile
>X-Sender: hog@postoffice.tidalwave.net
>To: jones.80@osu.edu


Hi List members,

I know some of you out there can answer these questions about vibrotactile
research better than I.... so I am forwarding this message, assuming that it
has not been forwarded before (I sometimes miss these things).

Mari J.>




>Dear Mrs. Jones,
>
>Found you in the Acoustical Society list and hope you had information on
>the following subject. The letter at the bottom of this page was sent to an
>exceptional musician in scotland Evelyn Glennie.  She is a deaf
>percussionist if your not familier. I would like to know if you specialize,
>or if you know of any specialists in the field mentioned below, or if there
>is any equipment readily available that acts like the following device
>described.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Dear Evelyn:
>
>Hello, my name is Howard Connelly. I am a sculptor working in Washington,
>DC. I saw a PBS documentary on Rio De Janeiro which included you
>rehearsing music in a room while you were on the road. The image of you
>laying your hands on a cassette player inspired my idea for a device that
>uniquely translates sound into touch. "high fidelity for the hands". I
>visualized a  hand held unit that could translate any sound, recorded or
>live, into enhanced tactile vibrations. I am curious to know if you find
>the exploration for such a device interesting.
>
>My mission lead me first to Kathy Ballastino at Gallaudet University in
>Washington DC researching assistive devices. I found that  the only
>equipment for a hearing impaired person was a standard stereo system or
>something like what I saw you using to rehearse with.  Even with
>exaggerated volume, the experience is somewhat limited to bass tones. With
>experimentation and equipment at The Speaker Factory, I found that
>frequencies over 600 Hz did not transmit noticable vibrations to the touch.
>Next, Ray Kester of K-TRON Electronic Engineering and I designed a custom
>crossover circuit. It takes any audio signal and separates the high and low
>frequencies. Then it further divides the high frequencies into individual
>channels. Finally, It translates the high frequency channels to a
>corresponding low frequency better suited to transmit Haptic or tactile or
>vibrations! Basically it compresses the full audio range into the tactile
>range. We are working to create the most effective vibrating touch pad for
>the user. Currently we are experimenting with modified acoustic speaker
>magnets. Each finger could feel a different instruments vibrations! I've
>also made some drawings of how it all might look.
>
>
>I am very excited about "high fidelity for the hands" and hope that we will
>have chance to look into this project together. If you do find this effort
>interesting, would you be able to offer any advice? Thank you for your time
>and kind consideration. I look forward to your response,
>
>
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Howard Connelly
>
>
>
>
>
>Thank you Mrs. Jones
>
>
>Howard Connelly
>
>
>

____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________

Mari Riess Jones
Department of Psychology
142 Townshend Hall
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210
Phone: 614-292-4206
Fax: 614-292-5601
____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________