Abstract
Besides other tools for multisensory and sound design, over the last decade, a heterogeneous and multidisciplinary research team from Politecnico di Torino has developed SounBe, a patented tool and method conceived to support designers and researchers in the selection of the most suitable materials within the possible hyper-choice, taking sound into consideration as a project requirement. Specifically, SounBe is a toolkit, which ensures the reproducibility of the mechanical sound creation process, following the main principles of the scientific method; this way, the device can be put to a number of uses, by different people and in different sound design contexts. As with every other patented product, the SounBe tool and method have undergone extensive experimental validation in several tests applied to a real case study. The specific results have already been published in literature but the opportunities of this approach to strengthen product identity through sound design can still be disclosed. This final chapter summarises the evolution of this new tool for sound design, from creation to patenting and the validation process, from publication of the results in scientific literature to the possible future applications in several design fields, some of which already investigated and others still requiring exploration, in order to supply the reader with a new tool to deal with the development of successfully sounding objects in very different manufacturing fields.
This contribution was mostly developed by Dr. Doriana Dal Palù, as main author.
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Notes
- 1.
MATto is the material library of the Politecnico di Torino which, alongside Torino Chamber of commerce, provides manufacturing companies with consultancy services regarding innovative materials and production processes in order to support and foster innovation in industrial and craft businesses. For more information on MATto services offered to companies, visit the website www.matto.polito.it.
- 2.
This instrument was recently updated by the French company ExpertiSens and renamed TouchFeel. TouchFeel splits the sense of touch into nine simple descriptors in order to promote a common language, and makes the panel associate these descriptors with three main movement patterns: orthogonal touch, measuring hardness, nervousness and effect of memory; tangential touch, measuring slipperiness, braking, depth, relief and fibrous features; static touch, measuring thermal features.
- 3.
The subjects composing the testing panel are also called acoustic “tasters”, and they are a group of experts, trained in acoustic sensorial analyses, who become the real judges of the perceptive characteristics of a stimulus.
- 4.
It is worth noting that, although referred to sensorial, non-quantitative features, the method described is metrologically valid because it leads to statistically reliable sound-descriptor associations.
- 5.
SIAE is the Italian copyright collecting agency. In order to deposit their works, authors need to deliver an application form signed by all the authors to the closest SIAE office, along with an unpublished copy of the work through a form. SIAE exercises copyright on behalf of the legitimate owner. Copyright has two distinct components: economic and moral.
- 6.
An anechoic chamber (anechoic meaning “non-reflective, non-echoing, echo-free”) is a room designed to completely absorb reflections of either sound or electromagnetic waves. This means that a person or detector hears direct sounds only (no reverberant sounds), simulating being inside an infinitely large room.
- 7.
The TRL scale is a method of estimating technology maturity. TRLs are based on a scale of 1–9, with 9 being the most mature technology. The use of TRLs enables consistent, uniform discussions of technical maturity across different types of technology.
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Dal Palù, D., De Giorgi, C., Lerma, B., Buiatti, E. (2018). Creation, Validation and Possible Applications of a New Tool for Sound Design. In: Frontiers of Sound in Design. SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76870-0_5
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