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5G-powered wearable tech could be the key to inclusive experiences for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences at live performances

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The Soundshirt uses haptic sensation to convert sound into vibrations.

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• Wearable tech is making live entertainment more inclusive by turning audio into tactile sensations.
• Some brands are using 5G to power the tech and make shows accessible to people with hearing loss.
• Because of its low latency and expanding connectivity, more wearables are expected to use 5G.
• This article is part of "Build IT," a series about digital tech and innovation trends that are disrupting industries.

Jill Stark remembers the dazzling production of "The Flying Dutchman" as if she were a part of it. In a way, she was.

While watching the opera, which was put on by the Lyric Opera of Chicago in October, Stark wore an innovation called the SoundShirt. The garment allowed her to feel the sound of the opera by transmitting haptic sensations to microactuators — devices that produce controlled movement — that were embedded in the fabric.

The SoundShirt wirelessly received sound data captured by microphones near the stage and conveyed it through vibrations across the torso and arms. The instrumentals, vocals, and story came alive.

It was a game-changing experience for Stark, who is deaf.

Jill Stark, left, and her son Jeffrey Stark, right.

Stark told Business Insider she was fascinated by the technology's ability to "create unique and immersive experiences, especially for us with profound hearing loss." The distinct sensations produced by different instruments, like feeling the bass in her arms along with a treble, was "a fantastic experience," she said.

"Music, especially through the SoundShirts, has a powerful way of transcending boundaries and connecting us to different realms," she said.

Wearable technology has been used in multiple industries, such as healthcare and fitness. Now, it's making headway in the entertainment industry by helping to create immersive music experiences for a broader audience.

Music and entertainment wearables, like the SoundShirt, commonly use haptics that convert sounds into vibrations felt on the body.

A September report from Fortune Business Insights found that the global wearable-technology market is estimated to grow and hit a market valuation of $931.31 billion by 2030. The fifth generation of wireless technology, known as 5G, is expected to play a major role in powering the connectivity boom.

5G stands apart from previous iterations of mobile-wireless networks because of its low latency, which refers to the time delay between sending and receiving information. Fewer lags and faster download speeds make the real-time experience required for wearable technology possible.

With these features, 5G can help enhance and create new ways to experience auditory sensations.

The Chicago Lyric Opera is using wearables to create a more immersive music experience

Francesca Rosella, the cofounder and chief creative officer of CuteCircuit, a London-based wearable-technology brand that invented the SoundShirt, wanted to achieve a higher level of human connection through sensation, she told BI.

Francesca Rosella, the cofounder and chief creative officer of CuteCircuit.

"There are so many studies about what touch can do for a human and for human connectedness," Rosella said.

The primary purpose of the wearables, she said, is to help those who are deaf or hard of hearing experience music inclusively.

CuteCircuit produces two versions of the SoundShirt: one made for orchestra performances or professional events that uses a standard wireless-network protocol — the kind worn by Stark — and a 5G-powered version that anyone can purchase.

One of CuteCircuit's SoundShirts was part of the Access+Ability exhibit in 2018 at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City.

CuteCircuit and the Chicago Lyric Opera launched the SoundShirt pilot program last fall to broaden the impact of live performances and improve accessibility for audience members who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The program was launched in partnership with the Chicago Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities. Rachel Arfa, the office's commissioner, was invited to wear the shirt while watching a production of "West Side Story" and provide feedback.

Arfa, a longtime disability-rights activist and a member of the deaf community, shared her experience on LinkedIn, writing that she was shocked by the garment's ability to enhance her experience despite her initial skepticism.

Rosella told BI that the latency of the SoundShirt garments is around 20 milliseconds; it wouldn't be able to operate to its fullest extent using the past generations of 3G and 4G, which have a slower latency of around 100 milliseconds and 30 to 50 milliseconds, respectively.

"If we have a network that guarantees the speed where we have the lowest latency, then we can have real-time experiences," she said.

Lags are normal, but delays shorter than 40 milliseconds are generally imperceptible, Rosella said. Anything longer than that could cause a noticeable disconnect between what someone is feeling and what's actually happening.

"Everything is latency, especially when it comes to sound and touch," Rosella said.

5G's expansion means more wearable technology will rely on wireless networks

Experts working in the personal-tech space said that 5G is expected to expand the capabilities of current wearables by boosting network speeds and reducing lag.

For the past 10 years, Not Impossible Labs, an innovation studio, has been working on Music Not Impossible, a project focused on creating the Vibrotextile wearable technology. Vibrotextile is a haptic vest with two ankle and wrist bands that deliver vibration to 24 points across the body.

The Vibrotextile wearable technology is a haptic vest with wrist and ankle bands.

While the current iteration of Music Not Impossible's Vibrotextile does not employ 5G, the company plans to integrate 5G into the vest next year. Daniel Belquer, the cofounder of Music Not Impossible, told BI that 5G is an important part of innovating Vibrotextile's connectivity capabilities.

"We wanted to have bidirectional communication," Belquer said. "So not just broadcasting the vibrations but knowing, for example, battery state, maintenance issues, or the position of the crowd."

Bidirectional communication allows the individual units — in this case, the vests — to communicate information back to the music controls. Creating this kind of feedback loop will be crucial to enhancing users' experiences.

Knowing the crowd's position and having vests respond to audio in real time, Belquer said, would also make it possible to send movement across an audience — it'd be similar to a stadium crowd doing the wave, except the motion would be felt through vibration vests.

Belquer said that 5G's bidirectional-communication ability can also power adjustable latency. The wireless technology could sense if a user is close to or far from the stage at a show. It can then sync a vest's vibrations with a show's audio, taking into account the speed of the sound traveling to a user's location in the venue. For instance, someone far from the stage will feel a subtle delay in vibration compared to someone in the front row.

"Currently, everybody gets the same experience," Belquer said. "In the future, with 5G, we're able to say: 'Oh, you're close to the stage? OK, fine. So this is the most immediate experience.'"

5G will allow for more personalized experiences, but all in service of creating a stronger sense of community, Belquer and Rosella said.

"People want to be connected, and I think that's the most important aspect of technology," Rosella said.

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