Perceptual vs. hardware performance in advanced acoustic interface design

Abstract

This panel brings together experts in the field of non-speech auditory displays with points of view ranging from long-term basic research in human perception to the timely production of useable tools in commercial systems. The panel will examine issues of perceptual validity and engineering performance from several different perspectives representative of current work in the field, and discuss how such issues can or should impact decisions made during technology development. Panelists' perspectives include: levels of analysis in designing and using auditory interfaces (Gaver), an example of what can be learned about implementation requirements for low-level psychophysical studies (Wenzel), designing integrated systems to encompass sonification in a three-dimensional environment (Foster), issues in the study of information transfer in representational acoustic signals (Levkowitz), and the design of a generalized technology platform for acoustic signal presentation (Powell).