Navigating Hierarchical Menus Through Sound

Abstract

Much of the current user experience navigating digital information relies on visual displays. Providing auditory alternatives enables access for visually impaired and blind users. The current study evaluated hierarchical navigation in a novel spatialized auditory interface compared to a screen reader and visual navigation mode. Past studies suggest that spatialized audio may provide performance improvements. Sixteen participants navigated menu structures of varying depth / breadth to select a target item with three different interface styles (spatial audio, screen reader, and visual). Time-to-completion, errors, and SUS scores were compared across interfaces. Results showed that spatial audio was significantly slower, more error prone, and less usable than the other conditions. However, the problems of spatial audio might be overcome with simple changes in the interaction mode and optimization of display space. Our experience shows that designers must solve the problem of auditory clutter and spatial selection to achieve usable auditory navigation.