THE POWER OF LISTENING TO YOUR DATA: OPENING DOORS AND ENHANCING DISCOVERY USING SONIFICATION

Abstract

As a blind researcher, I rely entirely on sound to analyse my data and carry out my research program. To this end I am active in a collaboration that is exploring the use of data sonification (converting data into sound) to enhance, validate, and accelerate discovery. The scope of our program is not limited to enabling blind and visually-impaired researchers to contribute to areas of research that were not previously accessible. Rather, we look also to the use of new multi-modal approaches that exploit the properties of sound to address mainstream challenges presented by trends in modern astrophysics. Using ‘real-life’ examples, I describe how we are ex- ploring time-series data, spectra, and multi-dimensional datasets mapped to a variety of sonic characteristics such as pitch, amplitude, waveform, pulse repeat rate, tone quality, and distortion and noise to provide addi- tional information on measurement uncertainties. I discuss the application of data sonification to high redshift galaxy research and to our coordinated multi-wavelength observational program to detect and follow up fast transient events. Finally, I outline current research directions involving touch screen and trackpad approaches to examine scatter-plot (non-linear) data representations, shape-based recognition, and the use of combined weighted harmonics to render the information content in multi-dimensional datasets as sound.