Sounds in space: 3D audio experiences through tangible navigation

Abstract

This paper presents an experiment with 3D audio design and experience through a Tangible User Interface for 3D navigation. A generic 3D navigation metaphor, Navigational Puppetry, provides the user with a graspable viewpoint that allows them to 'reach' into the virtual world. An audio expert, specializing in relationships between 'music, place, and mobility', uses an audio-enabled prototype of this metaphor - the Navi-Teer - to populate a soundscape with graphical representations of sound elements. As navigation occurs, the audio environment yields unusual and complex 3D audio mixtures and spatial sound interactions. The experiment showcases Navigational Puppetry's subtle interactive benefits of increased spatial orientation, tactile intimacy, easy capture of complex input and support for collaboration in a task that requires navigation to complete a larger goal. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.