Creation, validation and possible applications of a new tool for sound design

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.