This book is a comprehensive introductory presentation of the key research areas in the interdisciplinary fields of sonification and auditory display. Chapters are written by leading experts, providing a wide-ranging coverage of the central issues, and can be read from start to finish, or dipped into as required. Sonification conveys information by using non-speech sounds. To listen to data as sound and noise can be a surprising new experience with diverse applications ranging from novel interfaces for visually impaired people to data analysis problems in many scientific fields. This book gives a solid introduction to the field of auditory display, the techniques for sonification, suitable technologies for developing sonification algorithms, and the most promising application areas. The book is accompanied by an online repository of sound examples.
This book examines the human factors issues associated with the development, testing, and implementation of helmet-mounted display technology in the 21st Century Land Warrior System. Because the framework of analysis is soldier performance with the system in the full range of environments and missions, the book discusses both the military context and the characteristics of the infantry soldiers who will use the system. The major issues covered include the positive and negative effects of such a display on the local and global situation awareness of the individual soldier, an analysis of the visual and psychomotor factors associated with each design feature, design considerations for auditory displays, and physical sources of stress and the implications of the display for affecting the soldier's workload. The book proposes an innovative approach to research and testing based on a three-stage strategy that begins in the laboratory, moves to controlled field studies, and culminates in operational testing.
Doing Research in Sound Design gathers chapters on the wide range of research methodologies used in sound design. Editor Michael Filimowicz and a diverse group of contributors provide an overview of cross-disciplinary inquiry into sound design that transcends discursive and practical divides. The book covers Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods inquiry. For those new to sound design research, each chapter covers specific research methods that can be utilized directly in order to begin to integrate the methodology into their practice. More experienced researchers will find the scope of topics comprehensive and rich in ideas for new lines of inquiry. Students and teachers in sound design graduate programs, industry-based R&D experts and audio professionals will find the volume to be a useful guide in developing their skills of inquiry into sound design for any particular application area.
The contemporary design practice known as data sonification allows us to experience information in data by listening. In doing so, we understand the source of the data in ways that support, and in some cases surpass, our ability to do so visually. In order to assist us in negotiating our environments, our senses have evolved differently. Our hearing affords us unparalleled temporal and locational precision. Biological survival has determined that the ears lead the eyes. For all moving creatures, in situations where sight is obscured, spatial auditory clarity plays a vital survival role in determining both from where the predator is approaching or to where the prey has escaped. So, when designing methods that enable listeners to extract information from data, both with and without visual support, different approaches are necessary. A scholarly yet approachable work by one of the recognized leaders in the field of auditory design, this book will - Lead you through some salient historical examples of how non-speech sounds have been used to inform and control people since ancient times. - Comprehensively summarize the contemporary practice of Data Sonification. - Provide a detailed overview of what information is and how our auditory perceptions can be used to enhance our knowledge of the source of data. - Show the importance of the dynamic relationships between hearing, cognitive load, comprehension, embodied knowledge and perceptual truth. - Discuss the role of aesthetics in the dynamic interplay between listenability and clarity. - Provide a mature software framework that supports the practice of data sonification design, together with a detailed discussion of some of the design principles used in various examples. David Worrall is an internationally recognized composer, sound artist and interdisciplinary researcher in the field of auditory design. He is Professor of Audio Arts and Acoustics at Columbia College Chicago and a former elected president of the International Community for Auditory Display (ICAD), the leading organization in the field since its inception over 25 years ago. Code and audio examples for this book are available at https://github.com/david-worrall/springer/ Here is an excellent review of the book by Dr Gregory Kramer: “Worrall proceeds bravely through the trees and vines of philosophy, information theory, aesthetics, and other contributors to sonification design theory. It’s a feat. He nails all of this down with the specific implementation system he’s designed over many years, and applies his theories to specific problems. In a field of research still in its first half century and setting its bearings in a world where human perception has become a sideshow to machine learning, deep learning, and artificial intelligence, the roots David provides will serve well.” Dr Gregory Kramer is the founding figure in the emerging field of sonification, founded the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD) and editor of the first book in the field, "Auditory Display: Sonification, Audification and Auditory Interfaces" (Addison Wesley, 1994).
Acoustics is the science concerned with the production, control, transmission, reception, and effects of sound. Its origins began with the study of mechanical vibrations and the radiation of these vibrations through mechanical waves, and still continue today. Research was done to look into the many aspects of the fundamental physical processes involved in waves and sound and into possible applications of these processes in modern life. The study of sound waves also leads to physical principles that can be applied to the study of all waves. The broad scope of acoustics as an area of interest and endeavour can be ascribed to a variety of reasons. First, there is the ubiquitous nature of mechanical radiation, generated by natural causes and by human activity. Then, there is the existence of the sensation of hearing, of the human vocal ability, of communication via sound, along with the variety of psychological influences sound has on those who hear it. Such areas as speech, music, sound recording and reproduction.
Stimulus-response compatibility refers to the finding that certain mappings of stimuli to responses produce faster and more accurate responding than do others. The present volume surveys compatibility research which falls into four broad categories: (a) mental representation and coding (b) neurophysiological mechanisms (c) motor performance (d) human factors applications. The major findings and models within each of the categories are summarized, and an integrated perspective is provided. The research indicates that compatibility effects reflect basic cognitive processes that bear on a range of issues in cognitive science and that have applied implications for human factors specialists.
"I recommend this book to you with an earnestness that I have seldom felt for any collection of historic texts," writes William Gibson in his foreword.
The Springer Handbook of Auditory Research presents a series of comprehensive and synthetic reviews of the fundamental topics in modern auditory research. The v- umes are aimed at all individuals with interests in hearing research including advanced graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and clinical investigators. The volumes are intended to introduce new investigators to important aspects of hearing science and to help established investigators to better understand the fundamental theories and data in fields of hearing that they may not normally follow closely. Each volume presents a particular topic comprehensively, and each serves as a synthetic overview and guide to the literature. As such, the chapters present neither exhaustive data reviews nor original research that has not yet appeared in pe- reviewed journals. The volumes focus on topics that have developed a solid data and conceptual foundation rather than on those for which a literature is only beg- ning to develop. New research areas will be covered on a timely basis in the series as they begin to mature.
Humans possess a remarkable ability to extract rich three-dimensional information about sound environments simply by analyzing the acoustic signals they receive at their two ears. Research in spatial hearing has evolved from a theoretical discipline studying the basic mechanisms of hearing to a technical discipline focused on designing and implementing increasingly sophisticated spatial auditory display systems. This book contains 39 chapters representing the current state-of-the-art in spatial audio research selected from papers presented in Sendai, Japan, at the First International Workshop on the Principles and Applications of Spatial Hearing.
