Resin: a Vocal Tract Resonances and Head Based Accessible Digital Musical Instrument

Recent developments in sensor technologies allowed the definition of new human-computer interaction channels, useful for people with very limiting motor disabilities such as quadriplegia. Some of these sensors are available pre-packaged on the mass market, com- plete with computer interaction softwares, while others are easily achievable at low costs through DIY approaches. In this article we present Resin, an Accessible Digital Musical Instrument dedicated to people with quadriplegic disability. Resin exploits two interaction channels, head movements and the shape of the vocal tract, detected through the corresponding acoustic resonances, to control musical performance parameters. The structure of the instrument is dis- cussed, from both the hardware and software points of view. Feature extraction algorithms for both channels are explained, particularly focusing on the vocal tract resonances interaction paradigm.