DigiDrum: A Haptic-based Virtual Reality Musical Instrument and a Case Study

This paper presents DigiDrum – a novel virtual reality musical instrument (VRMI) which consists of a physical drum augmented by virtual reality (VR) to produce enhanced auditory and haptic feedback. The physical drum membrane is driven by a simulated membrane of which the parameters can be changed on the fly. The design and implementation of the instrument setup are detailed together with the preliminary results of a user study which investigates users’ haptic perception of the material stiffness ofthe drum membrane. The study tests whether the tensionin the membrane simulation and the sound damping (how fast the sound dies out) changes users’ perception of drum membrane stiffness. Preliminary results show that higher values for both tension and damping give the illusion ofhigher material stiffness in the drum membrane, where the damping appears to be the more important factor. The goal and contribution of this work is twofold: on the one hand it introduces a musical instrument which allows for enhanced musical expression possibilities through VR. On the other hand, it presents an early investigation on how haptics influence users’ interaction in VRMIs by presenting a preliminary study.