Sonified Infrared Spectra and Their Interpretation by Blind and Visually Impaired Students

Abstract

To make the analysis of infrared (IR) spectra accessible to students who are blind and visually impaired (BVI), the visual information of the spectra was converted into nonspeech sounds using the open-source programs JDXview v0.2 and CSV to MIDI converter. In the sonified infrared spectra (SIRS), time is used as a spectral frequency indicator, and the range of the selected musical instrument frequencies is correlated with the intensity of the corresponding band absorptions. To simplify the identification of the absorption bands in the SIRS, seven audible distinguishable time markers were added: at the beginning, 3000, 2500, 2000, 1500, 1000 cm −1 , and at the end. This approach allows the fast identification of typical functional groups, or a set of frequencies related to a particular structural pattern in a molecule. By conveying IR spectral data, SIRS will aid BVI students' chemical education; SIRS can be used either for distance learning or in classroom activities.

An Arduino-Based Talking Calorimeter for Inclusive Lab Activities

“…On the other hand, accurate measurements require individual training, which is not an easy process. 9 Related works included the encoding of infrared spectra based on the correlation between the absorption band intensity and the frequency range of musical instruments, 10 and a simple electronic circuit for generating audio signals. 11 Nevertheless, these proposals are exclusively based on sounds not on speech signals.…”

Visualization without Vision – How Blind and Visually Impaired Students and Researchers Engage with Molecular Structures

“…Of course, visual spectra are, in fact, just created from numbers, numbers that could be presented in nonvisual formats. For example, Pereira and co-workers have developed a methodology for converting infrared (IR) spectroscopy data into nonspeech audio sound called "sonified infrared spectra (SIRS)" (Pereira et al, 2013). All that is needed to use SIRS is experimental IR data and open-source software (JDXview v0.2 and CSV to MIDI converter).…”

Interacting With Rna Secondary Structure Through Sonification

“…Sonification has already been used as a tool to help understand obscure datasets, e.g. electrocardiography signals (Kather et al 2017), or help visually impaired individuals to interpret data (Pereira et al 2013). In the past, sonification has already been used as a tool to comprehend biological phenomena in a number of projects (Temple, 2017;Shi et al, 2007).…”