Do You See What I Hear? — Peripheral Absolute and Relational Visualisation Techniques for Sound Zones

Title of the Paper

Do You See What I Hear? — Peripheral Absolute and Relational Visualisation Techniques for Sound Zones

Paper Information

• Field of Study: Human-Computer Interaction and Sound Zone Interaction Techniques
• Keywords: Sound Zones, Sound Visualization, Ubiquitous Computing, Sound Interaction, Visualization
• Conference: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’22), 2022

Research Background and Problem

• Research Problem: Sound zones are an acoustic technology designed to enhance multi-user audio experiences. While the technology enables sound isolation within the same physical space, the invisibility and intangibility of sound zones make it difficult for users to understand and control them.
• Significance: While headphones provide personalized listening experiences, they hinder social interaction. Sound zone technology offers personalized audio without disrupting social interaction. Addressing the user understanding and interaction with this invisible technology is crucial.
• Motivation: Investigating how to visualize the spatial characteristics (location and size) of sound zones to compensate for their invisibility and intangibility can enhance user experience.

Solution

• Main Approach:
  • Two visualization techniques for sound zones were proposed:
    1. Absolute Visualization: Projects a circular area on the ceiling or floor of a room, directly reflecting the position and size of the sound zone.
    2. Relational Visualization: Uses a horizontal display screen showing a rectangle, where the width and position indicate the size and location of the sound zone.
• Innovations:
  • Designed under the "peripheral awareness" concept, allowing users to perceive the state of sound zones without focusing on the visualization.
  • Absolute and relational visualizations are tailored for different scenarios, ensuring the conveyed information integrates seamlessly with the environment.
• Implementation Steps:
  1. Design visualization prototypes: Absolute visualization implemented via a projector, and relational visualization using a set of display modules.
  2. Conduct experiments comparing visualization techniques with a baseline (no visualization) in terms of user performance (33 participants, scenarios include single-user and multi-user tasks).
  3. Collect data on task completion rates, time, and user feedback.

Research Findings

• Specific Results:
  1. Visualization techniques significantly improved user accuracy in multi-user tasks (accuracy increased from 58.7% without visualization to 76.6%, see Table 1).
  2. Both visualization techniques enhanced task efficiency (significant reduction in task completion time).
  3. While both absolute and relational visualizations had similar effects, relational visualization was less intrusive to the environment, making it more suitable for home or private settings, whereas absolute visualization was better suited for public spaces.
• Experiments and Evaluation:
  • Experiments involving four representative tasks demonstrated the effectiveness of visualization techniques through performance modeling results (accuracy, time efficiency).
  • Interviews further confirmed user preferences and strategies for using the two visualization techniques.
• Limitations and Future Directions:
  1. Current experiments were conducted in a laboratory setting; further evaluation is needed in real-world complex environments, such as office spaces or public venues.
  2. More in-depth research is recommended on multi-user simultaneous control of sound zones.
  3. Additional support for visually impaired users through multimodal interaction design is needed.
  4. Optimization of sound zone visualization techniques should be considered to better adapt to specific environmental requirements.

Conclusion

This study innovatively demonstrates the potential of sound zone visualization, revealing how absolute and relational visualization techniques transform user interaction with invisible systems. Experimental results show that these visualization methods significantly improve user accuracy and efficiency in multi-user scenarios, paving the way for sound zone technology to better serve users in homes, offices, and public spaces.

Acknowledgments and Funding

This project was funded by the Innovation Fund Denmark (IFD), File No. 9069-00038B, under the project title "Interactive Sound Zones for Better Living (ISOBEL)."