By Francesca Rosella, CuteCircuit

Can you wear music? Can you hug a loved one who is far away? Enter the world of fashion-technology, a growing sector of wearable tech that is creating amazing new possibilities.

CuteCircuit is a pioneering fashion-technology company that’s been at the forefront of fashion tech for nearly 2 decades with products such as the HugShirt and the SoundShirt, both recognised as TIME's Best Inventions of the Year. The HugShirt, which allows users to send and receive hugs over distance, marked CuteCircuit's early stride into creating a wearable device that could offer new ways to connect and communicate. This recognition paved the way for the SoundShirt, a light next-generation garment that translates sound into touch through haptic feedback. Born out of a desire to bridge the sensory gap faced by the deaf community, the SoundShirt is equipped with an array of smart fabrics and micro-actuators which translate auditory stimuli into tactile sensations, enabling the wearer to feel the nuances of sound on their skin, allowing the wearer to experience music, voices, and other sounds in an entirely new way.

The technology that powers the SoundShirt is both sophisticated and beautifully designed. In the context of a concert, for example, the process begins with microphones positioned on the stage to capture the sound. This sound is then processed by «Q», the CuteCircuit real-time music analysis software, which breaks down the music into different frequencies and amplitudes. The data from this analysis is sent wirelessly to the audience wearing the SoundShirt, activating its network of actuators to produce corresponding vibrations. This enables the wearer to feel the rhythm, depth, and intensity of the music, connecting them to the performance in a visceral, tangible way.

A Symphony of Sensations

Haptic technology, the cornerstone of the SoundShirt, is the science and application of recreating the sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user. The haptic feedback in SoundShirt is created through a network of actuators (small motors) distributed across the fabric of the shirt. These actuators respond to different frequencies and amplitudes of sound, converting them into vibrations that replicate the sensation of touch. This process is akin to how our ears translate sound waves into electrical signals that our brain perceives as sound. In the SoundShirt however, these signals are transformed into tactile feedback, creating a «touch symphony» on the wearer's skin.

A significant challenge in the design of wearable tech is integrating complex technology into garments without compromising comfort or aesthetics. CuteCircuit has developed a number of proprietary systems for merging conductive textiles and micro-electronics that eliminate the need for cumbersome wires. This allows the SoundShirt to retain the flexibility and comfort of a regular garment, making it not just wearable but also washable.

Also in the gaming world, the SoundShirt has opened new frontiers of immersive experience. By physically feeling in-game actions, gamers can become more deeply engaged with the virtual world, heightening the excitement and enjoyment of gameplay. Whether it's the sensation of an on-screen explosion or the subtle vibrations of a character's footsteps, the SoundShirt amplifies the gaming experience by adding a new layer of sensory feedback.

The SoundShirt has the potential to significantly enhance the user's sensory experience by integrating haptic feedback into VR and AR environments as it allows users to physically interact with the virtual world. Imagine the thrill of feeling the artist's voice as they describe their artwork in a virtual gallery, or the pulsing bass of a virtual concert as if you were there in person. The SoundShirt brings these experiences to life, making them more engaging and realistic.

Reconnecting elderly dementia patients

Today the SoundShirt's impact has also extended beyond entertainment and music and into the realm of health and wellbeing. An unexpected but deeply gratifying opportunity to introduce the SoundShirt in a dementia care home arose during the pandemic. The sensory feedback provided by the garment appeared to stimulate a sense of connection in elderly dementia patients. One preliminary study showed improvements in cognitive and mobility aspects among these users, along with an overall reduction in loneliness. These findings have opened up a new and exciting avenue for the application of the SoundShirt in therapeutic contexts.

As we look to the future one can envision the SoundShirt becoming an essential tool for a wide range of applications: deaf community, gamers, VR and AR users, therapists, but also anyone who desires a more sensory-rich experience of the world. This vision extends beyond the SoundShirt as an individual product but signals a major step towards a future where technology isn't just seen or heard but felt in a tactile, tangible way, where technology is seamlessly integrated into our daily lives, and the lines between technology and fashion are blurred.

CuteCircuit’s stated mission is to make this vision a reality, driven by the goal of creating innovative, stylish, and inclusive wearable technologies that enhance the human experience. The SoundShirt is a symbol of continuing to push the boundaries of what technology can do, and how it can be worn, from a concert to the living rooms of gamers, from the halls of a dementia care home to the endless landscapes of VR and AR. The SoundShirt has become more than a wearable device; it is a conduit for inclusivity, a tool for immersion, a therapeutic aid, and a fashionable garment that makes technology wearable and comfortable.

The SoundShirt's impact is perhaps best reflected in the testimonials of its users, wearers who have been able to experience the richness of music or the thrill of gaming in a whole new way, or users such as deaf concertgoers who've been moved to tears by their first experience of 'feeling' a symphony, and gamers who've found their virtual immersive experiences significantly enriched. These testimonials highlight the transformative power of technology when applied thoughtfully and remind us that at the heart of every technological advancement should be the aim to enhance human connection and experience.

With the evolution of haptic technology and its seamless integration into wearable tech, we are closer than ever to a future where the lines between the physical and digital world blur. As we move towards this future, we should create technology guided by the principle of connecting people, in an innovative, sensory-rich, but also inclusive, intuitive, and emotionally resonant way.