Auditory display is the use of sound to communicate information from a computer to the user.
The primary forum for exploring these techniques is the
International Community for Auditory Display The International Community for Auditory Display (ICAD), founded in 1992, provides an annual conference for research in auditory display, the use of sound to display information. Research and implementation of sonification, audification, earcons an ...
(ICAD), which was founded by
Gregory Kramer Gregory Paul Kramer (born 14 October 1952, in Los Angeles, California), is a composer, researcher, inventor, meditation teacher and author. In 1975 he co-founded Electronic Musicmobile, a pioneer synthesizer ensemble later renamed Electronic Art En ...
in 1992 as a forum for research in the field.
Types of auditory display
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Audification
Audification is an auditory display technique for representing a sequence of data values as sound. By definition, it is described as a "direct translation of a data waveform to the audible domain." Audification interprets a data sequence and usuall ...
: a technique for listening to a large
time series
In mathematics, a time series is a series of data points indexed (or listed or graphed) in time order. Most commonly, a time series is a sequence taken at successive equally spaced points in time. Thus it is a sequence of discrete-time data. E ...
by mapping values directly to
sound pressure
Sound pressure or acoustic pressure is the local pressure deviation from the ambient (average or equilibrium) atmospheric pressure, caused by a sound wave. In air, sound pressure can be measured using a microphone, and in water with a hydrophon ...
levels
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Sonification
Sonification is the use of non-speech audio to convey information or perceptualize data. Auditory perception has advantages in temporal, spatial, amplitude, and frequency resolution that open possibilities as an alternative or complement to visua ...
: the use of non-speech audio to convey information or perceptualize data
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Earcons / auditory icons: brief, distinctive sounds used to represent a specific event or convey other information
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Voice messaging: the automated use of
speech synthesis or recorded speech samples to convey precise statements
Benefits and limitations
Auditory display enables eyes-free usage for blind users (via a
screen reader) as well as sighted users who are using their eyes for other tasks. A rapid detection of acoustic signals and the omnidirectional feature of the sense of hearing can contribute to the effectiveness of an auditory display even when vision is available. On the other hand, sound output may interfere with other acoustic signals, such as speech communication. This complicates the use of auditory displays for certain applications. Furthermore, acoustic output may be annoying or distracting.
See also
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References
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User interface techniques
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