Auditory Display

Abstract

Sound (acoustic information) is the naturally evocative, audible result of kinetic events. Humans interact with the world by the everyday experience of listening to perceive and interpret the environment. Elite athletes, especially, rely on sport specific sounds for feedback about successful (or unsuccessful) movements. Visualization plays the dominant role in technique analysis, but the limitations of visual observation (of time related events) compared with auditory perception, which represents information with a clearer time-resolution, mean that acoustic displays offer a promising alternative to visual displays. Sonification, as acoustic representation of information, offers an abundance of applications in elite sports for monitoring, observing movement and detecting changes therein. Appropriate sound is needed to represent specific movement patterns. This article presents conceptual considerations for a sound design to fulfill the specific purpose of movement optimization that would be acceptable to elite athletes, with first practical experience with elite athletes in rowing.