Chapter 17: Auditory Display in Assistive Technology

by Alistair D. N. Edwards

Description

Auditory information can be of particular importance to people who cannot perceive other forms, notably those who are blind. This chapter mainly surveys some of the attempts to substitute visual information by sounds.

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Download the chapter: TheSonificationHandbook-chapter17 (PDF, 1M)

Media Examples

Example S17.1: Car door slamming
A real-world sound that can be associated with an event in a screen reader.


media file S17.1

download: SHB-S17.1 (mp3, 5k)
source: Freedom Scientific

Example S17.2: Lamp on
Another common, real-world sound that can be used as a signal in a screen reader.


media file S17.2
download: SHB-S17.2 (mp3, 6k)
source: Freedom scientific

Example S17.3: Rubber mallet
Another common, real-world sound that can be used as a signal in a screen reader.


media file S17.3
download: SHB-S17.3 (mp3, 4k)
source: Freedom scientific

Example S17.4: 2 Piano notes
A simple sequence of two musical notes that might be assigned to an event in a screen reader.


media file S17.4
download: SHB-S17.4 (mp3, 138k)
source: Freedom scientific

Example S17.5: K-sonar sample
Scanning a 4cm-diameter plastic pole from left to right and back.


media file S17.5
download: SHB-S17.5 (mp3, 335k)
source: Bay Advanced Technologies Ltd

Example S17.6: K-sonar sample
Walking towards a glass door and then retracing steps back.


media file S17.6
download: SHB-S17.6 (mp3, 682k)
source: Bay Advanced Technologies Ltd

Example S17.7: K-sonar sample
Person approaching to the halt position and then retracing his/her steps.


media file S17.7
download: SHB-S17.7 (mp3, 478k)
source: Bay Advanced Technologies Ltd

Example S17.8: K-sonar sample
Standing in front of a wood fence with spacing between small panels and scanning the torch to the left and right to “shine” the beam along the fence line.


media file S17.8
download: SHB-S17.8 (mp3, 488k)
source: Bay Advanced Technologies Ltd

Example S17.9: K-sonar sample
Scanning the torch down on to a grass lawn and up again.


media file S17.9
download: SHB-S17.9 (mp3, 421k)
source: Bay Advanced Technologies Ltd

Example S17.10: K-sonar sample
Standing in front of a 50cm wide tree. The tree has only a thin layer of bark and a thin (4cm) shoot growing out at the base of the tree; a clump of short flax on the other side. As the ultrasonic beam scans across it produces a strong “warbling” sound from the trunk, a soft mushy sound from the flax, and a soft short whistle from the shoot


media file S17.10
download: SHB-S17.10 (mp3, 650k)
source: Bay Advanced Technologies Ltd

Example S17.11: K-sonar sample
Standing in front of a concrete block wall with large thick well-developed ferns at the side of the standing position. The torch scanned across the ferns onto the wall and back again. The wall produces a tone sound. The ferns made a strong mushy sound.


media file S17.11
download: SHB-S17.11 (mp3, 560k)
source: Bay Advanced Technologies Ltd

Example S17.12: vOICE sonification
Extract of the Sonification of a complex scene including a car.


media file S17.12
download: SHB-S17.12 (mp3, 242k)
source: The vOICE Project

Example S17.13: Soundgraph
Soundgraph representation of the equation y=x + sin(x).


media file S17.13
download: SHB-S17.13 (mp3, 39k)
source: created by the author

Example S17.14: Smartsight triangle
Smartsite Sonification of a triangle shape.


media file S17.14
download: SHB-S17.14 (mp3, 62k)
source: Smartsight, http://www.smartsight.co.uk/sounds/Shapes/triangle.mid

Example S17.15: Smartsight square
Smartsite Sonification of a square shape.


media file S17.15
download: SHB-S17.15 (mp3, 56k)
source: Smartsight, http://www.smartsight.co.uk/sounds/Shapes/square.mid

Example S17.16: Smartsight house
Smartsite Sonification of a simple drawing of a house.


media file S17.16
download: SHB-S17.16 (mp3, 82k)
source: Smartsight, http://www.smartsight.co.uk/sounds/Shapes/house.mid