Sonification of Range Information for 3-D Space Perception

Sonification of Range Information for 3-D Space Perception E. Milios, B. Kapralos and S. Stergiopoulos Department of Computer Science, York University, North York, Canada M3J 1P3 {eem, billk}@cs.yorku.ca
Abstract: We present a device that allows 3-D Space Perception by sonification of range information obtained via a point laser range sensor. The laser range sensor is worn by the user, who scans space by pointing the laser bea m in different directions. The resulting stream of range measurements is then converted to an auditory signal whose frequency or amplitude varies with the range. Our device differs from existing navigation aids for the visually impaired. Such devices use sonar ranging whose primary purpose is to detect obstacles for navigation, a task to which sonar is well suited due to its wide beam width. In contrast, the purpose of our device is to allow users to perceive the details of 3D space that surrounds them, a task to which sonar is ill suited, due to artifacts generated by multiple reflections and to limited range. Preliminary trials demonstrate that the user is able to accurately detect corners and depth discontinuities with ease and to perceive the size of the surrounding space.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Equipment
Description
Source Code Description
     Helper Functions
     Main Programs
     Miscellaneous Code
Conclusions
References
Appendix
     Appendix A - Laser Range Finder
     Appendix B - Apple Sound Manager
     Appendix C - Midi and The Quick Time Music Architecture