Technology and beauty: interactive jewels to overcome deafness

During the XI Florence Biennale was presented “Quietude”, a project by The University of Siena. Technology and beauty are combined to create interactive jewels for overcoming deafness.

“Having a disability should not be an impediment to feeling beautiful and desired” said Patrizia Marti, professor of the University of Siena, and supervisor of the Quietude project. The technology has finally gone towards the aesthetic sense: too many people with disabilities have felt a sense of shame, they are hidden in order not to show others their medical devices. Quietude is born to overcome deafness and return the sound in the form of lights, vibrations and different structures.

This is a project of the Fab Lab of the University of Siena, entirely financed by the European Union and carried on thanks to the partnership with companies and institutions such as Glitch Factory, T4All, Siena Art Institute and University of Southern Denmark, to transform a stigma in an object of desire.
In fact, a team of experts, whose skills range from engineering to psychology, have created an app that can record the sound, recognize it and communicate it; at the same time, jewels are able to give back visual feedback of the sound to the wearer. The jewels are made by recycled and eco-sustainable materials such as regenerated leather or eco-fabrics, combined with the miniaturization of technologies.

The Quietude project, born only six months ago, involved in every phase, from design to evaluation, deaf women. “The ultimate goal is to be able to recognize all the sounds through the jewels, but especially those important for every single person, such as the sound of nature.

 

Source: Siena News