Sonic Interaction Design is the exploitation of sound as one of the principal channels conveying information, meaning, and aesthetic/emotional qualities in interactive contexts. The Action pro-actively contributes to the creation and consolidation of new design theories, tools, and practices in this innovative and interdisciplinary domain. While being advanced through a few sparse projects, this field relies on the COST – SID Action to strengthen the links between scientists, artists, and designers in the European Research Area.
The COST – SID platform stands on four legs: (i) perception, cognition, and emotion; (ii) design; (iii) interactive art; (iv) information display and exploration. These are each supported by the research and development of the requisite new interactive technologies. Due to the breadth of its application spectrum, the COST – SID Action has the potential of affecting everyday life through physical and virtual interactive objects, as today there is the possibility to designand actively control their acoustic response so that it conveys an intended aesthetic, informational, or emotional content.
Objectives:
- Foster research on the multifaceted sonic aspect of interactive artefacts.
- Establish a community where psychologists, cognitive scientists, acousticians, computer scientists, designers, and artists can talk and understand each other, under the common objective of understanding sonic interactions and designing future artefacts that exploit the auditory communication channel at the functional, informational, and aesthetic levels.
- Promote the growth of new design disciplines that will contribute to a better quality of life.
- Nurture and guide emerging scientific, technological, and cultural intercourses.
Organization
Working Group 1: Perceptual, cognitive, and emotional study of Sonic Interactions
The activity focuses on extending information and valuable resources (including bibliography, guidelines, methods, and workbenches) on experimental scientific findings about human sound reception in interactive contexts. New experimental paradigms in neurosciences, ergonomics and psycholinguistic open stimulating challenges. Basic research is included in these activities, promoting paper publication and dissemination.
Working Group 2: Product Sound Design
The activity focuses on collecting resources useful to establish a grounded design method for designing interactive products having a salient sonic behaviour. Initiatives are promoted, in the form of schools, studies, design exercises, etc., to improve the design culture and sensibility in this area. Relevant design patterns are collected and documented.
Working Group 3: Interactive Art and Music
The activity aims at promoting new productions in the interactive and performing arts, exploiting the role of enactive engagement with sound–augmented interactive objects. Artists are actively involved in COST – SID activities so to increase their awareness of the emerging possibilities in sound–mediated communication and interaction.
Working Group 4: Sonification
The activity collects prominent cases of data and information sonification, thus growing a body of sonification patterns, especially those emphasising the important role of interaction. Possibilities for killer applications will be highlighted and brought to the attention of scientific, educational, and industrial forums.
Main achievements
- CHI SID Workshop on Sonic Interaction Design, Firenze, 2008
- Training School on Biomedical Data Sonification, Bielefeld, 2008
- Workshop on Film and Theatre Sound Design, York, 2009
- Build a strong European network in the field which can give rise to future
- EC funded projects
- Training School on Interactions with Environmental Sounds, Porto, 2009
- Special issue of the International Journal Of Human-Computer Studies, 2009
- 55 Short-Term Scientific Missions
- Workshop on Sketching Sonic Interaction Design, Holon, Tel Aviv, 2009
- Training School on Product Sound Design, Helsinki, 2010
- Exhibition on Sonic Interaction Design, Oslo, 2011.
