HR: 1340h
AN: ED43B-0850    [Abstracts]
TI: Sonification Prototype for Space Physics
AU: * Candey, R M
EM: Robert.M.Candey@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 612.4, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Schertenleib, A M
EM: anton.schertenleib@gmx.de
AF: University Of Applied Sciences, Hof, Boettgerstr. 29, Schoenwald, 95173 Germany
AU: Diaz Merced, W L
EM: mercedw@yahoo.com
AF: University of Puerto Rico, Laboratory of Astronomy Shirohisa Ikeda Project, Rio Piedras, 00931-3343 Puerto Rico
AB: As an alternative and adjunct to visual displays, auditory exploration of data via sonification (data controlled sound) and audification (audible playback of data samples) is promising for complex or rapidly/temporally changing visualizations, for data exploration of large datasets (particularly multi-dimensional datasets), and for exploring datasets in frequency rather than spatial dimensions (see also International Conferences on Auditory Display <http://icad.org/>). Besides improving data exploration and analysis for most researchers, the use of sound is especially valuable as an assistive technology for visually-impaired people and can make science and math more exciting for high school and college students. Only recently have the hardware and software come together to make a cross-platform open-source sonification tool feasible. We have developed a prototype sonification data analysis tool using the JavaSound API and NASA GSFC's ViSBARD software <http://nssdcftp.gsfc.nasa.gov/selected_software/visbard/>. Wanda Diaz Merced, a blind astrophysicist from Puerto Rico, is instrumental in advising on and testing the tool.
UR: http://spdf.gsfc.nasa.gov/research/sonification
DE: 0520 Data analysis: algorithms and implementation
DE: 0530 Data presentation and visualization
DE: 0855 Diversity
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005