This artistic project presents a vibrotactile “musical sculpture” in virtual reality. While wearing a spatially-tracked head-mounted display and custom 2-channel-tactor glove, participants can visually and haptically explore a virtual, permeable sculpture suspended in 3-dimensional space, comprised of dynamic, musical-like vibrations. As a general aim, the work proposes a more abstract approach to using vibrotactility in virtual environments for artistic ends. More specifically, as a product of research-practice, this piece is a proof-of-concept of the expressive spatial potential concerning two apparent motion illusions that arise from frequency beating and changing phase. A number of informal perceptual studies investigating these illusions informed the creative choices of this work.

Exhibitions:

2018 (March 27) “A Vibrotactile ‘Musical Sculpture’ in VR Exploring Apparent Motion Illusions of Frequency Beating and Changing Phase”: Demonstrations at the 2018 IEEE Haptics Symposium (March 25–28, 2018) in San Francisco, California. 

2018 “Transpiration(s): ‘A Vibrotactile “Musical Sculpture” in VR Exploring Apparent Motion Illusions of Frequency Beating and Changing Phase’”: Installation. April Santa Barbara 1st Thursday event. Studio F, SBCAST (Santa Barbara, CA).