Seamless user notification in ambient soundscapes

ABSTRACT

We describe a method for notifying users through auditory cues embedded in an ambient soundscape in the environment. It uses pieces of music which are composed in such a way, that particular instruments or motifs can be added or omitted without losing the aesthetic quality of the overall composition. This allows for very subtle modifications in the soundscape which are only noticed by those users who have chosen this particular instrument or motif as "their" notification instrument before. As a side effect, the soundscape itself can be used to subtly influence the mood of users. The method has been implemented in a prototype, which we briefly discuss. The prototype is implemented using a spatial audio framework and can hence notify users from particular directions.

REFERENCES

• 1: Martin Henz , Stefan Lauer , Detlev Zimmermann, COMPOzE---Intention-based Music Composition through Constraint Programming, Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI '96), p.118, November 16-19, 1996
• 2: F. Kilander and P. Lönnqvist. A whisper in the woods - an ambient soundscape for peripheral awareness of remote processes. International Conference on Auditory Display, Kyoto/Japan, 2002.
• 3: Elizabeth D. Mynatt , Maribeth Back , Roy Want , Michael Baer , Jason B. Ellis, Designing audio aura, Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, p.566-573, April 18-23, 1998, Los Angeles, California, United States [doi>10.1145/274644.274720]
• 4: Curtis Roads, The Computer Music Tutorial, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1996
• 5: M. Schmitz. SAFIR: A spatial audio framework for instrumented rooms. In Proceedings of ITI04: Workshop on Invisible and Transparent Interfaces, held at Advanced Visual Interfaces 2004, Gallipoli, Italy, 2004.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Auditory (non-speech) feedback

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Theory and methods; Evaluation/methodology

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation, Human Factors, Theory

Keywords:
ambient audio, auditory cues, peripheral awareness, soundscapes