Be Me Vest - Exploring the Emotional Effects of Music and Sound-Based Vibrotactile Stimuli

Abstract

Music and nature sounds are known for their ability to elicit a wide range of emotional responses; so is physical touch. Nonetheless, tactile feedback seems quite limited in its emotional expressivity. Our goal is to explore whether emotive properties transfer between the aural and the tactile domains. We designed a wearable interface, the “Be Me” vest, which translates sound as vibration on the upper back of a person. Using this interface we then explored whether music compositions and nature sounds can systematically influence a person’s affective state when presented via the tactile channel only. For most vibrotactile stimuli, we found a distinct influence on physiological responses. Further, for a subset of the stimuli we also found a distinct influence on self-report evaluations. These findings further our understanding of the role of the tactile modality in the emotional processing of complex sounds and may lead to the development of a rich vibrotactile language.