As music lovers, one student team decided to create a musical experience for Deaf and hard-of-hearing people. Led by Janaki Vivrekar ’20, M.S. ’21 and Revekka Kostoeva ’19, the team interviewed members of the community and learned about the challenges of enjoying music, from lyrics that are hard to understand to a low bass balance. Their final project? A mobile application, Vibrato, that enables users to feel, hear, and see the music, such as programming the phone to vibrate to the beat, caption the lyrics, or adjust the bass. The team also received a grant and access to a makerspace to continue developing Vibrato after the class had ended.
Vibrato shows what’s possible when students are given the opportunity and support to follow their own curiosity. In today’s changing world, students need more than majors to meet the multifaceted challenges of our time. They need…
