MuseIT

MuseIT stands for:

Multi-sensory
User-centred
Shared cultural
Experiences through
Interactive
Technologies.

The MuseIT project aims to combine and develop advanced technology to facilitate and widen access to cultural assets in an inclusive way. It also aims to promote inclusion, participation, accessibility, and equality. With a focus on variations in abilities and perceptual modalities, MuseIT will address the challenges of inclusion and a broader access to cultural assets on multiple fronts.

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This is made through the development of a platform for immersive and co-creative interaction with cultural assets and experiences at a distance. MuseIT contributes to improvements within following areas.

(a) Access to cultural assets through development of multisensory representations and alternative expressions to facilitate engagement for all, regardless of functional or sensory variations.

(b) Broader engagement and participation in cultural co-creation.

(c) Methods to preserve and safeguard cultural heritage with inclusion in focus.

MuseIT is co-funded by the European Union. In total there are nine partners from countries within the EU and two associate partners outside the EU. Project coordinator is Högskolan i Borås.

ShareMusic’s Contribution to MuseIT

ShareMusic’s part in the MuseIT project is focused on the part concerning cultural co-creation. We will work with the development of a Remote Performance Platform that will enable music co-creation at a distance. However, we are involved in several other parts of the project, not least in creating an accessible repository for cultural assets.

A man in a red vest playing music on an iPad on stage. Behind him a projection screen where nother man plays the bass guitar. — Musicians Peter Larsson and Joel Mansour (on screen) making a remote performance at the Science Festival in Gothenburg (SWE) 2023.

Remote Performance Platform for Collaborative Music-making

Music is an essential part of cultural heritage and one of the most difficult to transmit multimodally. Music can consist of tangible cultural heritage such as notation, instruments, and recordings. However, a music performance – and most notably, traditional songs that are passed on through generations, like the Sami yoik – is intangible. This is why music is an integral part of MuseIT. If we are able to create multimodal experiences of music, we will be able to do it with other art forms as well. The user-centred and co-creative approach of the MuseIT project allows for exploring how it feels to engage in creating art as well as experience the art.

The participants involved in the development of the Remote Performance Platform, will co-create music together at a distance. Research, technological development, and collaborative music-making will happen more or less simultaneously in the process. Since the platform is being developed for remote co-creation and online experiences, most participants can engage in the research process from their home.

The research that will be performed in developing theRemote Performance Platform also explores the interactive possibilities of the technology used. Not only will research participants be able to explore the sound of music but explore the feeling of music. By including the communication of thoughts and emotions between participants, we aim to develop the remote co-creative artistic process. Lead researcher for the work withShareMusic’s platform is Professor Nigel Osborne.

The Technology

The JackTrip technology that has been developed at CCRMA, Stanford University, is one part of this platform. JackTrip offers low latency to musicians collaborating online, enabling them to stay synchronized, minimizing the issue of delayed sound. Since the sound passes through the JackTrip technology, we can also experiment with the digital room and its resonance. We will also explore haptics and biodata. Through technology and neuro analysis we will be able to investigate how we can transfer feelings and a state of mind to one another remotely. By using sensors, data will be collected through the signals of the nerve and muscular system and respiration.

Disability a Crucial Experience for Development

As a knowledge centre for artistic development and inclusion, ShareMusic is one of the MuseIT-partners that has most experience of working with disabled persons and disabled artists. We will recruit a research group of around 30 participants that will help the researchers in developing the platform. The uniqueness of each individual’s experience of disability is crucial as this platform aims to be accessible and offer co-creative cultural experiences regardless of ability. ShareMusic’s Remote Performance Platform is focused on music-making, however, the technology used can be applied to other forms of art. The use of multimodal technologies will open up enhanced experiences for everyone, an important aspect towards equal access to arts and culture.