Who created this haptic suit?
We all like music. But how can deaf and hard-of-hearing people enjoy them? A company in the United States called Not Impossible Labs made a special haptic suit that can help deaf and hard-of-hearing people enjoy music. The device is named Music: Not Impossible.
The device can let people who cannot hear feel the music as vibrations on their skin.
How does the suit work?
This special suit uses vibrations to make one feel sounds on their skin (cool!). Not Impossible Labs made this device with the help of an electronics company called Avnet. The device combines wearables, hardware, software, and wireless tools.
It runs on batteries and uses wireless technology. It has two ankle bands, two wrist bands, and a harness that a person can wear. The device provides eight separate zones of vibration across the user's body.
Users can change how strong the vibrations are. The device was first tested in 2018 in Las Vegas, USA, by 200 deaf concertgoers. The company also worked with deaf and hard-of-hearing people to improve the device.
The vibrations are made by a DJ trained to adjust where, how fast, and how strong the vibrations are, just like a DJ does with music.
What is the future of this device?
How good the suits are was seen at an event recently, where 75 of them were available. Anyone, whether hearing, hard of hearing, or deaf, could borrow one.
The company currently offers the suits to various organisations as part of a full-service package that includes many suits, a team that will help people put them on, answer questions, and a team of DJs trained to adjust the vibration locations for each song played.
The package is costly, but the company doesn't want to charge deaf and hard-of-hearing people for using them. However, buying a suit can be costly, and not everyone can afford one. Also, many deaf and hard-of-hearing people want to listen to the lyrics, too, as feeling the vibrations is not a problem for many.
