A Sensory Device Concept To Make Music Accessible For Deaf People
Through applied science and human creativity, technology is a means of finding solutions to long-term problems in regular life and making feats achievable that were once thought impossible. One problem in everyday life is a deaf person’s inability to hear the sound of music. However, German designer Frederik Podzuweit is developing a sensory device concept to make music accessible for deaf people through their sense of feeling or touch.
Podzuweit’s idea is based on synesthesia, which is a form of stimulus using one sensory ability of the human body to generate the perception of a different sensory ability. This concept is called Music For Deaf People. According to Podzuweit’s conceptual design, a regular audio device like an iPod will send vibrations of bass, midtones and treble to a secondary device like headphones, which might be placed on a person’s neck or shoulders. Furthermore, volume and track number would be adjusted by using large, conveniently located controls resting on the top of the secondary device.
Frederik Podzuweit also intends for Music For Deaf People to be used by people who don’t have a hearing impairment. If this concept ever becomes a real world product, it could also be embraced by consumers without hearing problems as a unique way to enjoy music by feeling it instead of simply hearing it. Thus, a day may come when musical devices are used through the human sense of feeling and touch.
Tags: Frederik Podzuweit, Music For Deaf People, music made available through touch
