Sonification of geo-referenced data for auditory information seeking: Design principle and pilot study

We present an Auditory Information Seeking Principle (AISP)(gist, navigate, filter, and details-on-demand) modeled after the
visual information seeking mantra [1]. We propose that data
sonification designs should conform to this principle. We also
present some design challenges imposed by human auditory
perception characteristics. To improve blind access to geo-
referenced statistical data, we developed two preliminary
sonifications adhering to the above AISP, an enhanced table and
a spatial choropleth map. Our pilot study shows people can
recognize geographic data distribution patterns on a real map
with 51 geographic regions, in both designs. The study also
shows evidence that AISP conforms to people’s information
seeking strategies. Future work is discussed, including the
improvement of the choropleth map design.