A comprehensive framework for auditory display: Comments on Barrass, ICAD 1994

ABSTRACT

In ‘A Perceptual Framework for the Auditory Display of Scientific Data’ I described the first perceptually scaled sound space designed specifically for sonification. I modeled this sound space, and its underlying theory, on the use of perceptual colour spaces in scientific visualization. As I went on to apply the sound space in mappings of satellite data I introduced methods of data characterization and user-centered task analysis into my design framework. In trials I realized that satellite images allow you to see global information across millions of data values, whereas it was impossible to play all the data at once as sounds. This lead me to explore perceptual streaming as a means for perceiving similarity and difference in masses of sounded data. In work on sonifications for virtual reality applications I recognized the need to consider the semiotic linkage of the sound with the application domain, and the need to also link the sound with the interaction metaphor.The work described in this paper laid the foundation for the ongoing development of a comprehensive framework for auditory display that takes into consideration the perceptual organization of the sounds, the characteristics of the data, the gamut of the display device, the user's tasks, the semiotic linkage to the application domain, and the affordances for interaction.

REFERENCES

• 1: Albers, M., Barrass, S., Brewster, S., and Mynatt, B. 1997. Dissonance on audio interfaces. IEEE Expert. September.
• 2: Anderson, J. and Sanderson, P. 2004. Designing sonification for effective attentional control in complex work domains. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. New Orleans. September.
• 3: Barrass, S. 1994. A perceptual framework for the auditory display of scientific data. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD 1994), Santa Fe.
• 4: Barrass, S. 1996. EarBenders: Using stories about listening to design auditory interfaces. In Proceedings of the First Asia-Pacific Conference on Human Computer Interaction. Singapore.
• 5: Stephen Barrass , Phil Robertson, Auditory information design, 1998
• 6: Barrass, S. 2000. Some golden rules for designing auditory displays. In The Csound Book: Perspectives in Software Synthesis, Sound Design, Signal Processing and Programming, ISBN 0-262-52261, R. Boulanger, Ed. MIT Press, March.
• 7: Barrass, S. and Zehner, B. 2000. Responsive sonification of well-logs. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD 2000). Atlanta, April.
• 8: Barrass, S. 2004. Patterns for designing functional sounds. International Symposium on Sound Design, Paris, October.
• 9: Barrass, S. Whitelaw, M., and Potard, G. 2006. Creativity and Practice-led Research. Media International Australia incorporating Culture and Policy, No. 118, February 2006, L. Green, and B. Haseman Eds. The University of Queensland, ISSN 1329-878X.
• 10: Bregman, A. 1990. Auditory Scene Analysis. MIT Press, Cambridge.
• 11: Daudø, S. and Nigay, L. 2003. Design process for auditory interfaces. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD 2003). Boston, July.
• 12: Eckel, G. 1998. A spatial auditory display for the CyberStage. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Audio Display (ICAD 1998). Glasgow, November.
• 13: Frauenberger, C., Putz, C., Hoeldrich, R., and Stockman, T. 2005. Interaction patterns for auditory user interfaces. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD 2005). Limerick, July.
• 14: Joseph, A. and Lodha, S. K. 2002. MUSART: Musical audio transfer function real-time tool kit. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD 2002). Kyoto, July.
• 15: Mitsopoulos, E. N. and Edwards, A. D. N. 1998. A principled methodology for the specification and design of non-visual widgets. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD 1998). Glasgow, November.
• 16: Keith V. Nesbitt, MS-Taxonomy: A Conceptual Framework for Designing Multi-sensory Displays, Proceedings of the Information Visualisation, Eighth International Conference on (IV'04), p.665-670, July 14-16, 2004 [doi>10.1109/IV.2004.100]
• 17: Rivenez, M., Drake, C., Guillaume, A., and Sebastien, D. 2002. Listening to environmental scenes in real time. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD 2002). Kyoto, July.
• 18: Robertson, P. K., Hutchins, M., Stevenson, D., Barrass, S., Gunn, C., and Smith, D. 1994. Mapping data into Color Gamuts: Using interaction to increase usability and reduce complexity. Computers & Graphics, 18, 5, 653--665.
• 19: Saue, S. 2000. A model for interaction in exploratory sonification displays. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD 2000). Atlanta, April.
• 20: Walker, B. N. and Kramer, G. 1996. Mappings and metaphors in auditory displays: An experimental assessment. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD 1996). Palo Alto, CA, November.
• 21: Walker, B. N., Kramer, G., and Lane, D. M. 2000. Psychophysical scaling of sonification mappings. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD 2000). Atlanta, July.
• 22: Williams, S. 1994. Perceptual principles in sound grouping. In Auditory Display: Sonification, Audification and Auditory Interfaces, G. Kramer, Ed. SFI Studies in the Sciences of Complexity, Proeedings vol. XVIII. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.

INDEX TERMS

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation, Measurement, Theory

Keywords:
Sonification, auditory display, data mapping