Designing interactive sonification for live aquarium exhibits

Abstract

In response to the need for more accessible and engaging informal learning environments (ILEs), researchers have studied sonification for use in interpretation of live aquarium exhibits. The present work attempts to introduce more interactivity to the project's existing sonification work, which is expected to lead to more accessible and interactive learning opportunities for visitors, including children and people with vision impairment. In this interactive sonification environment, visitors can actively experience an exhibit by using tangible objects to mimic the movement of animals. Sonifications corresponding to their movement can be paired with real-time animal-based sonifications produced by the existing system to generate a musical fugue. In the current paper, we describe the system configurations, experiment results for optimal sonification parameters and interaction levels, and implications in terms of embodied interaction and interactive learning. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.