Stetho Scope

IF you find yourself

Designing a display that allows interactive queries for local details on a global overview

for example

• e1: querying for populations of cats and dogs overlaid on a GIS map [Jeong and Gluck 2002] http://www.icad.org/websiteV2.0/Conferences/ICAD2002/proceedings/66_WooseobJeong.pdf
• e2: querying the ratio of local maxima in at points above and below a point in a 2d slice from a 3d seismic volume [Joseph and Lodha 2002] http://www.icad.org/websiteV2.0/Conferences/ICAD2002/proceedings/01_AbigailJoseph.pdf
• e3: scanning a theme park map for the most exciting rides [McGookin? and Brewster 2002] http://www.icad.org/websiteV2.0/Conferences/ICAD2002/proceedings/12_DavidMcGookin.pdf

with the problem that

you need to show different scales or resolution or types of data in the same spatial region

entailing forces

• f1: the need to keep a global context
• f2: the need to allow local queries

THEN

Use sounds to represent the local information within the global visual context

Apply

Bertin’s theory of information display [Bertin 1981]

• 'useful information is the answer to a question'
• a good display answers questions at local, intermediate and global levels
• local questions are about individual elements
• intermediate questions are about relations between elements
• global questions are about the entire set of elements
• questions are raised by re-organising the elements

to construct

a stethoscope-like tool that allows the user to point to local regions of interest to hear details

leading to

the ability to listen to local detail while looking at the global overview

and

an interactive sonification of local information

---

References

Bertin J. (1981) Graphics and Graphic Information Processing, Walter de Gruyter.

Jeong W. and Gluck M. (2002)Multimodal Bivariate Thematic Maps with Auditory and Haptic Display, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Display ICAD 2002, Kyoto, July 2-5, 2002.

Joseph A. and Lodha S.K. (2002) MUSART: Musical Audio Transfer Function Real-Time Tool Kit, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Display ICAD 2002, Kyoto, July 2-5, 2002.

McGookin? D.K. and Brewster S.A. (2002) Dolphin: The Design and Initial Evaluation of Multimodal Focus and Context, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Display ICAD 2002, Kyoto, July 2-5, 2002.