Subject: Vibrotactile From: Mari Jones <jones.80(at)OSU.EDU> Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 11:23:22 -0500>Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 22:34:10 -0500 >From: Howard Connelly <hog(at)tidalwave.net> >Subject: Vibrotactile >X-Sender: hog(at)postoffice.tidalwave.net >To: jones.80(at)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 ____________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________