A reflection on the exploration and development of novel haptic solutions in relation to operation and control of audio and music production technologies within an extended reality environment
Andy Visser
London College of Music
Supervisors:
Professor Justin Paterson
London College of Music
Dr Alastair Barrow
Toia Limited
This paper chronicles a three-year PhD investigation into haptic technology applications in audio- and music production within an extended reality (XR) framework. It provides an analytical overview of the research question, comprehensive literature review and the methodology adopted. It also includes a review of statistically significant results from experiments undertaken so far, demonstrating a benefit for haptically-enabled audio and music production tools. This research presents quantitative and qualitative analyses of two experiments, focusing on user interaction with haptic interfaces in a simulated audio- or music production process. This paper further investigates an inductive exploration, centred on haptic manipulation of audio waveforms, expanding the knowledge boundary in this nascent area. Additionally, this paper presentation will include a brief description of selected haptic artefacts, engineered during the research. These devices are practical embodiments of the research findings and showcase the potential of integrating haptic feedback into XR-based audio- and music production. Further discussion will highlight how these artefacts were conceived and iteratively refined throughout the PhD research-by-practice process, illustrating the practical implications of the theoretical research. This study aims to fill gaps in the current understanding of haptic applications in XR and to inform future technological advancements in the field. In summary, this paper will present comprehensive research that aims to contribute to academic discourse on haptic technologies in audio- and music production within an XR context and offers a foundation for subsequent innovation in this area.