Psychoacoustical Signal Processing for Three-dimensional Sonification

Abstract

Physical attributes of sound interact perceptually, which makes it challenging to present a large amount of information simultaneously via sonification, without confusing the user. This paper presents the theory and implementation of a psychoacoustic signal processing approach for three-dimensional sonification. The direction and distance along the dimensions are presented via multiple perceptually orthogonal sound attributes in one auditory stream. Further auditory streams represent additional elements, like axes and ticks. This paper describes the mathematical and psychoa-coustical foundations and discusses the three-dimensional sonification for a guidance task. Formulas, graphics and demo videos are provided. To facilitate use at virtually all places the approach is mono-compatible and even works on budget loudspeakers.