Improving Digital Audio Workstation Accessibility for Blind and Visually Impaired Music Producers Through Vibrotactile Feedback

Karpodini, Christina (2026) Improving Digital Audio Workstation Accessibility for Blind and Visually Impaired Music Producers Through Vibrotactile Feedback. Doctoral thesis, Birmingham City University.

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Abstract

Music production has become central to modern music-making, enabling digital creativity and distribution of music through technological tools. While early analogue studios relied on tangible interaction with devices such as mixing desks, encoders, and faders, the move toward fully digital production has shifted these tactile controls into visually demanding interfaces within Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs). This transition broadened access for many people; however, it introduced significant disadvantages for blind and visually impaired (BVI) music producers. The skeuomorphic visual representations in DAWs require constant visual attention, creating significant barriers to audio editing and processing. Accessibility tools such as screen readers provide essential text-to-speech functionality, enabling access to and interaction with DAWs. However, they also introduce challenges, including increased cognitive load and workflow inefficiencies, particularly when voice feedback overlaps with the processed musical audio. Inspired by the tactile benefits of earlier studio equipment, haptic feedback presents a promising non-audio-based interaction method. Vibrotactile feedback, specifically, has been used to support BVI users in tasks such as navigation and everyday interactions, and is widely used to enhance audio-visual experiences. However, its integration into music production remains underexplored, and there is limited guidance on designing vibrotactile feedback to convey complex creative tasks in DAWs.

This thesis investigates how BVI music producers can benefit from vibroatactile feedback to enhance DAW accessibility through human-centric methods. Starting with interviews with 19 participants, insights were gathered regarding how BVI music producers utilised existing haptic technologies to enable a more accessible workflow. Findings demonstrate the benefits of haptic feedback, the key accessibility barriers and the opportunities for vibrotactile feedback support. Through the interviews, initial design requirements were gathered regarding a new wearable haptic device and the potential vibration patterns mapped to DAW functionalities. A complementary review of wearable haptic devices identified the arms as the most suitable location for a vibrotactile feedback display in a music production context.

The collected design requirements, based on users’ needs and existing literature, led to a study focused on an interactive process of designing, developing, and evaluating a vibrotactile feedback armband with five, and finally three, motors around the arm. The experiment with 12 participants testing their ability to identify the location of the vibration excitation accurately showed a 96% success rate, providing evidence that this device can effectively and precisely convey spatiotemporal patterns to convey information about the DAWs. To evaluate this, 6 two-parameter Tactons were tested in presenting EQ information to 6 BVI participants. This haptic feedback method was evaluated in a study that compared information recognition and time between the existing screen reader method, the new haptic method, and a hybrid of both. The results showed that participants could understand the information from the haptic method as well as from the screen reader, demonstrating the potential of this new method, as evidenced by their positive qualitative feedback and suggestions for further improvement and application.

Diverse vibrotactile feedback design techniques were also explored in the context of interaction with a volume fader in the absence of a screen reader. Three vibration-mapping strategies, based on vibration intensity, location around the arm, and vibration duration, were developed and evaluated with BVI music producers in realistic mixing scenarios. Results from 7 participants showed that mappings based on rhythmic cues and precise motor localisation were more usable, accurate, and efficient than alternative approaches, enabling participants to perform mixing tasks without reliance on audio-based accessibility tools.

This thesis contributes to understanding accessibility barriers in DAWs for BVI creatives and how the current use of haptic technologies can inform the future design of accessible music production tools. Furthermore, it provides insights into a specific way of utilising vibrotactile feedback as an alternative accessibility method, demonstrating the method’s validity and effectiveness in supporting BVI creatives. This work presents de-sign strategies for vibrotactile feedback and a wearable haptic prototype tailored to music production workflows. Finally, it guides future research toward inclusive, adaptable, and multimodal interaction designs using haptic technologies to enhance accessibility in music production for BVI creatives.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Dates:	Date Event 22 June 2026 Accepted
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Accessibility, Music Technology, Blind, Visual Impairment, Haptic Technology, Vibrotactile Feedback, Inclusive Design
Subjects:	CAH11 - computing > CAH11-01 - computing > CAH11-01-01 - computer science CAH11 - computing > CAH11-01 - computing > CAH11-01-08 - others in computing CAH25 - design, and creative and performing arts > CAH25-02 - performing arts > CAH25-02-02 - music
Divisions:	Doctoral Research College > Doctoral Theses Collection Architecture, Built Environment, Computing and Engineering > Computer Science
Depositing User:	Louise Muldowney
Date Deposited:	20 Jul 2026 14:38
Last Modified:	20 Jul 2026 14:38
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/17118

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