Data sonification from the desktop

Abstract

The design of auditory formats for data display is presently focused on applications for blind or visually impaired users, specialized displays for use when visual attention must be devoted to other tasks, and some innovative work in revealing properties of complex data that may not be effectively rendered by traditional visual means. With the availability of high-quality and flexible sound production hardware in standard desktop computers, the potential exists for using sound to represent characteristics of typical "small and simple" samples of data in routine data inspection and analysis. Our research has shown that basic properties of simple functions, distribution properties of data samples, and patterns of covariation between two variables can be effectively displayed by simple auditory graphs involving patterns of pitch variation over time. While such developments have implications for specialized applications and populations of users, these displays are easily comprehended by normal users with minimal practice. Providing further software enhancement to encourage exploration of data representation by sound may lead to a variety of useful creative developments in data display technology.

DoppelLab: Tools for exploring and harnessing multimodal sensor network data

“…We address this through client-level spatialization which responds to movement in the virtual space. Other work has shown that pitch-mapping sonifications can be as effective as visualization in conveying properties of functions of one variable [16].…”

Sonification of Animal Tracks as an Alternative Representation of Multi-Dimensional Data: A Northern Elephant Seal Example

“…Sonification applies these skills to derive patterns from complex data, such as northern elephant seals moving simultaneously across the NE Pacific Ocean. Sound has the capacity to represent basic properties of simple functions, such as distribution properties of data samples, and patterns of covariation between two variables can be effectively displayed by simple auditory graphs involving patterns of pitch variation over time (Flowers et al, 2005). The capacity to detect data covariation is particularly important as we strive at progressing from the serial processing of individual movement data to the search for pattern in animals moving in concert, as exemplified by the data set sonified here.…”

Data sonification of film capacitors

“…At the same time, it should be noted that there is a pleasing experimental result. In the perception of professional data with distributed characteristics, optimising the design scheme of sonification results can enable people with weak professional knowledge to achieve the same effect as those with deep professional knowledge [29]. This can provide an improvement direction for the sonification of more distribution data of film capacitors in the future.…”