Designing Haptic Feedback Stimuli to Convey Gestures of an Orchestra Conductor to Visually-Impaired Musicians

This paper explores the feasibility of conveying the expressive gestures of orchestral conductors to Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) users using haptic feedback systems. We interviewed a group of musicians, including sighted and BVI subjects, to gather insights on their experiences with haptic feedback, preferred body placements for wearable devices, and the role of conductors in orchestral performance. From these interviews and literature analysis, we derive design specifications for a haptic system capable of conveying distinguishable conductor gestures via vibrational motors. Our goal is to identify promising directions for the prototyping of wearable systems capable of supporting accessible interpretation of conducting gestures.