Sound Design for Information

Within this research area we study user interfaces and investigate the possibilities for improving interaction using sound. Sound is a very important means of communication in the everyday world and has advantages over other methods of communication. Surveillance of an industrial process or driving a vehicle are to large extend visual tasks. A constantly increasing and more complex information flow in these kinds of environments contribute to the risk that users will become more distracted and confused in critical situations. Sonically-enhanced interfaces may allow the user to employ more appropriate senses to solve a problem, rather than using vision only to solve all problems. We are also investigating how we can incorporate the esthetical and expressive aspects of sound into the design of new kinds of intuitive and tolerable auditory messages. Besides for industrial applications we are interested in how sound can be used in systems to assist and facilitate people with special needs, such as assistive technology for elderly and visual impaired.