Sonifying Every Day: Activating Everyday Interactions for Ambient Sonification Systems

Ambient information systems have been investigated widely in the visual modality, but ambient sonification systems are rare and investigation is limited by comparison with ambient visualisations. However, the auditory modality is well-suited to the task of interpreting quantitative information communicated through sonification, while not requiring interruption to the user’s current actions, as opposed to a visual system that requires visual attention. This paper investigates an approach to ambient sonification that activates everyday interactions, by using sensors to pick up interactions that users make with physical objects in a domestic environment. These actions are then used to trigger or control ambient sonifications. These sonifications are based on the information obtained from the same sensors or from information sourced from data services. The design patterns and implementation concerns are discussed and several prototype sonifications presented.