Auditory Interfaces and Sonification

ACM Trans. Access. Comput.

2011

Users interact with mobile devices through menus, which can include many items. Auditory menus have the potential to make those devices more accessible to a wide range of users. However, auditory menus are a relatively new concept, and there are few guidelines that describe how to design them. In this paper, we detail how visual menu concepts may be applied to auditory menus in order to help develop design guidelines. Specifically, we examine how to optimize the designs of a new contextual cue, called "spindex" (i.e., speech index). We developed and evaluated various design alternatives for spindex and iteratively refined the design with sighted users and visually impaired users. As a result, the "attenuated" spindex was the best in terms of preference as well as performance, across user groups. Nevertheless, sighted and visually impaired participants showed slightly different responses and feedback. Results are discussed in terms of acoustical theory, practical display design, and assistive technology design.

Section: Preference Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Preference Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spindex (Speech Index) Improves Auditory Menu Acceptance and Navigation Performance

Jeon

ACM Trans. Access. Comput.

2011

“…For example, Norman [2004] has stressed the importance of visceral design and proposed that an attractive and natural design can improve usability as well as affective satisfaction [Norman 2004[Norman , 2007. Even though many researchers point out that aesthetic and annoyance issues are more important in auditory displays than in visual displays [Brewster 2008;Davison and Walker 2008;Kramer 1994;Nees and Walker 2009], to date, research has mainly focused on performance issues. A fairly early study suggested that the nature of sound aesthetics is independent of performance outcomes [Edworthy 1998].…”

Section: User Experience Metrics For Auditory Interfacesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research on the use of nonspeech sounds for information display in user interfaces has rapidly grown since the early 1990s [Kramer 1994;Nees and Walker 2009;Walker and Kramer 2006]. The benefits of such auditory displays have been demonstrated in a wide range of different applications, from systems for blind people [Edwards 1989;Jeon and Walker 2011;Kane et al 2008;Raman 1997] to mobile devices [Brewster and 14:2 M. Jeon et al Cryer 1999; Brewster et al 1998;Jeon and Walker 2011;Klante 2004;Leplâatre and Brewster 2000;Li et al 2008;Palladino and Walker 2007Pirhonen et al 2002;Vargas and Anderson 2003;Zhao et al 2007], and ubiquitous/wearable computers [Brewster et al 2003;Sawhney and Schmandt 2000;Wilson et al 2007].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Spindex” (Speech Index) Enhances Menus on Touch Screen Devices with Tapping, Wheeling, and Flicking

Jeon

ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact.

Srivastava

2012

Users interact with many electronic devices via menus such as auditory or visual menus. Auditory menus can either complement or replace visual menus. We investigated how advanced auditory cues enhance auditory menus on a smartphone, with tapping, wheeling, and flicking input gestures. The study evaluated a spindex (speech index), in which audio cues inform users where they are in a menu; 122 undergraduates navigated through a menu of 150 songs. Study variables included auditory cue type (text-to-speech alone or TTS plus spindex), visual display mode (on or off), and input gesture (tapping, wheeling, or flicking). Target search time and subjective workload were lower with spindex than without for all input gestures regardless of visual display mode. The spindex condition was rated subjectively higher than plain speech. The effects of input method and display mode on navigation behaviors were analyzed with the two-stage navigation strategy model. Results are discussed in relation to attention theories and in terms of practical applications.

“…This may include the use of mobile phones while driving or while walking outside where glare is prevalent. Users with vision impairments can also benefit [2], as many recent GUI designs rely strictly on visual interaction. However, there remain unanswered questions regarding the best ways to design auditory menus.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spearcon Performance and Preference for Auditory Menus on a Mobile Phone

Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction. Intelligent and Ubiquitous Interaction Environments

Kogan

2009

Abstract. This study investigates the use of spearcons as an auditory cue. It looks simultaneously at both performance and subjective preference of spearcons and text-to-speech (TTS). The study replicated on a mobile phone a previous PC-based study run by Palladino and Walker [1]. Performance results have been very similar to those found in the previous study, supporting the generalizability of spearcon performance from PCs to mobile phones. TTS and spearcons both provided comparable performance improvements, suggesting that spearcons do not negatively effect the design of visual and non-visual menus and may, within the right context, lead to enhanced designs. Participants gave positive performance scores to both TTS and spearcons when no visual cues were provided. Higher rankings were provided for all audio cues when Spearcons were included both in visual and non-visual conditions.