Data sonification is the presentation of data as sound using
sonification
Sonification is the use of non-speech audio to convey information or perceptualize data. Auditory perception has advantages in temporal, spatial, amplitude, and frequency resolution that open possibilities as an alternative or complement to visua ...
. It is the auditory equivalent of the more established practice of
data visualization.
The usual process for data sonification is directing digital media of a dataset through a
software synthesizer
A software synthesizer or softsynth is a computer program that generates digital audio, usually for music. Computer software that can create sounds or music is not new, but advances in processing speed now allow softsynths to accomplish the sa ...
and into a
digital-to-analog converter
In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC, D/A, D2A, or D-to-A) is a system that converts a digital signal into an analog signal. An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) performs the reverse function.
There are several DAC archi ...
to produce sound for humans to experience.
Applications of data sonification include astronomy studies of star creation, interpreting
cluster analysis
Cluster analysis or clustering is the task of grouping a set of objects in such a way that objects in the same group (called a cluster) are more similar (in some sense) to each other than to those in other groups (clusters). It is a main task of ...
, and geoscience.
Various projects describe the production of sonifications as a collaboration between scientists and musicians.
A target demographic for using data sonification is the blind community because of the inaccessibility of data visualizations.
References
Further media
*{{cite book , editor1-last=Kramer , editor1-first=Gregory , title=Auditory display : sonification, audification, and auditory interfaces , url=https://archive.org/details/auditorydisplays00greg , url-access=registration , date=1994 , publisher=Addison-Wesley , isbn=978-0201626049
External links
Sounds of the Seaat NASA.gov
Data
Data visualization
Augmentative and alternative communication
Assistive technology