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Australian Sound Design Project
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Advanced Audio Interfaces |
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| Research Project | |
| Research project led by Stephen Barrass, CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences |
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Most current information technology is designed to support high attention, single minded, cognitive information processing tasks in safe and static office work situations. The increasing power and reducing size of info tech components leads to the possibility to support more diverse tasks in difficult outdoors conditions up a telegraph pole or down a mine or underwater. These tasks are much more manually complex, physically demanding, and require immediate, responsive, subtle, complex and non-verbal types of information. We will investigate ways that sounds can support tasks that are naturally auditory in the first place, where the eyes are busy, and where visual displays are too bulky, inefficient or expensive. Most designers do not have much knowledge of sound design and in particular the design of sounds to support tasks. The approach taken is typically based on techniques developed for movie soundtracks or methods for musical composition. The result is that sound in current products and interfaces is largely decorative, incomprehensible and quickly becomes annoying. This is in contrast to the everyday world where the sounds are a source of vital information that we use when we cross the street, repair an engine or work together on a construction site. We intend to scientifically develop new methods for designing auditory interfaces where 'form follows function'. Our research will link human factors results from psychoacoustic, perceptual and cognitive psychology with task based evaluations of the ergonomics, usefulness and usability of auditory information mappings situated in real world contexts. We will take an Action Research approach through experiments situated in real world contexts with real users in real tasks. We will use Design Patterns to communicate leading edge science with a broad community of application designers not reached through conventional academic channels. Key areas of research include: Psychoacoustics, perception and cognition of auditory informationPrinciples, methods and patterns for predictive design of auditory informationErgonomics, Usefulness, Usability, Learnability, Intuitiveness of auditory information. | |
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Published by The University of Melbourne Comments, questions, corrections and additions: i.mott@unimelb.edu.au Prepared by: Acknowledgements Updated: 18 January 2007 http://www.sounddesign.unimelb.edu.au/web/biogs/P000475b.htm |