Sound assemblage for navigating distributed information

Presents techniques for using sound to search information space. The authors are concerned with continuous display of auditory feedback in the human computer interface, recognizing an observer plays an important role in becoming engaged with messages from the interface. Three aspects of auditory signals are discussed: spatial attributes, spectral identifiers, and sequences of patterns. Two interface implementations are discussed, involving granular synthesis of sound and musical element transformation. The authors introduce the use of topological characteristics of an information space and navigation using alpha shapes. The authors conclude with a method for encoding sounds as synthesis instructions to achieve low latency interactive sound across computer networks