Concurrent Auditory Stream Discrimination in Auditory Graphing

Abstract

Th is paper is conce rned with enhancing huma n computer interaction and communication in concurrent streams of auditory display. Auditory display or auditory graphing is the sonic representation of numerical data (the auditory equivalent of visualization). It provides an additional channel for infor mation reprcscntation, in which a partici pant 's response may be more intu itive and immediate than (visual) graphical display. but auditory graph design requires understanding and multi-disci plinary investigatio n of listening due to instantaneous characteristics of sound. OUf aims a re to explore (I ) the impact of spatial separation for a divided atLention task and (2) the efficiency of timbre (tone color) to assist pitch contour identification. Ou r findings abo ut timbral and spatial dis crimination a re scalable and useful for auditory display in a wide variety of contexts . The results provide empirica l evidence for a furthe r investigat ion of spatiali zation and timbre and contribute to applications within an auditory display context for real-world scenarios (e.g. socia l, statistical and other datasets likely to be encountered in the wor kplace ) .