News & Events

Music has been called a universal language but it hasn’t been available to the deaf or hard of hearing – until now.

On March 5 at Clinton's Tavern in Toronto, the deaf or hard of hearing will be able to "hear" hip hop, punk and emo music through the revolutionary technology of the Emoti-Chair, a cross-modal, audio-tactile display chair that allows deaf or hard of hearing people to feel the vibrations of music and sound.

Developed by researchers from the Ted Rogers School of Management Centre for Learning Technologies (CLT) and the Department of Psychology’s Science of Music, Auditory Research and Technology (SMART) lab, the Emoti-Chair is embedded with voice coils which stimulate a user’s senses by syncing individual notes and sounds with vibrations and rocking motions at different intensities to give a multi-sensory music experience. Designed to emulate the human cochlea – the auditory portion of the inner ear – each chair is equipped with hardware and software that work together to transmit varying levels of frequency to the user.

“The Emoti-chair concert is a first-ever, live concert where people who are deaf or hard of hearing will have explicit access to the melody, bass and volume information of music in a way that is intended to be entertaining and enjoyable,” said Deborah Fels, CLT Director and Associate Professor from the Ted Rogers School of Information Technology Management. “Using the human cochlea, music cognition, and universal design as inspiration, we have developed a way to transpose the elements of music, including voice, into touch-based and visual experiences.”

“Not only is this useful to people who are deaf or hard of hearing but it also provides a rich multimedia experience to people who are hearing. This research is truly interdisciplinary as it involves media artists, musicians, computer scientists, psychologists and human-computer interaction specialists.”

Dr. Fels began her research on Emoti-Chair technology three years ago with associate and artist Graham Smith and Frank Russo, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and SMART lab Director. Dr. Russo and his research team wanted to understand how people produce, perceive and respond emotionally to music.

The concert will feature five chairs and one demonstration of music visualization, an added bonus of the Emoti-Chair. Through the music visualization software, MusicViz, CLT researchers developed a technology that helps deaf or hard of hearing people visualize music by seeing beats of music appear on a screen. By using animation and graphics, the visual aspect assists them in experiencing the rhythm, tempo and flow of the songs being played. Colours generated by MusicViz are synced with individual notes and sounds, then projected onto a screen in a fan-shaped pattern with different hues.

Two Ryerson students had the opportunity to try out the Emoti-Chair at a recent preview. Ellen Hibbard, PhD candidate in Communications and Culture, and David Fourney, PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering, were moved by the Emoti-Chair’s capacities. Deaf since birth, Hibbard found the chair very “calming and soothing” when it pulsed. Feeling the vibrations of the chair, she pictured a thunderstorm in summer when she “heard” the music.

Fourney, who is hard of hearing, had the dual experience of feeling and hearing the music. “It’s an interesting way to experience music. The Emoti-Chair certainly gives new meaning to the term rock ‘n’ roll.”

Read more research news at:
www.ryerson.ca/research

If you are a faculty member and would like to submit your current research as a story idea, please email a brief summary to stoye@ryerson.ca