COL.diesis: Transforming Colour into Melody and Implementing the Result in a Colour Sensor Device

Abstract

This paper represents a system which explores the reality of colour in relation to sound and dedicated firstly to blind people, the challenges they live with, their psychology and their emotions. It’s an exploration of the infinite range of colours that they have either never been able to see or that they have lost the possibility to see. The system developed is based on the concept of synesthesia: a ‘liaison’ between colour and sound, colour that becomes sound. This paper synthesizes a wider range of study regarding people with diverse psychological and movement conditions. It represents a new method of expression and of self development through music therapy and game, dedicated mainly to children aged between 5 and 13. Finally we conclude with a portable prototype device that has been validated and patented. It is capable of detecting colour and transforming it into sound: a colour sensor identifies colours and transforms this data into musical notes. The prototype is totally adaptable to the requirements of the end user meaning that the user can choose the best combination between colour and sound in order to improve their communication with the environment. We are now developing a mathematical theoretical background in order to formalize the correspondence between colour and musical space.