Novel Auditory Displays in Highly Automated Vehicles: Sonification Improves Driver Situation Awareness, Perceived Workload, and Overall Experience

Highly automated driving systems are expected to require the design of new user-vehicle interactions. Sonification can be used to provide contextualized alarms and cues that can increase situation awareness and user experience. In this study, we examined user perceptions of potential use cases for level 4 automated vehicles in online focus group interviews (N=12). Also, in a driving simulator study, we evaluated (1) visual-only display; (2) non-speech with visual display; and (3) speech with visual display with 20 young drivers. Results indicated participants’ interest in the use cases and insight on desired functions in highly automated vehicles. Both audiovisual display conditions resulted in higher situation awareness for drivers than the visual-only condition. Some differences were found between the non-speech and speech conditions suggesting benefits of sonification for both driving and non-driving related auditory use cases. This study will provide guidance on sonification design for highly automated vehicles.

ALBINISM AND USABILITY OF SOFTWARE FOR COMPUTER-BASED TESTING IN KOGI STATE UNIVERSITY: IS THERE NEED FOR ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY?

This research paper is an evaluation of usability of software for computer-based testing in Kogi State University by students and candidates with albinism. A qualitative research design was employed for the study because the intent was to elicit information from the respondents. The responses show that the interaction of the user (students with albinism) with computer through specific interfaces during the course of computer-based testing was reasonably satisfactory. However, the software used does not give warning sounds (auditory displays) to indicate that something needs attention during CBT. From the response of 88.7% of the respondents, it is obvious that the software effectively monitors time during CBT examination. Disappointingly, there was no time extension placed on the software/program for student with albinism to complete the test as reported by 91.9% of respondents. All the respondents were of the opinion that assistive technologies should be adopted during CBT examination for people with low vision in KSU. Therefore, this paper recommends that the software designers for CBT in KSU should take into consideration more graphics interfaces, auditory displays, time extension for students with low vision and various assistive technologies that students might use. The University management should make effort at providing assistive technologies to compensate for low vision students. This will help advance quality and equity in education by providing fair and valid assessment for all students and candidates including those with albinism.

Using Auditory Displays to Efficiently Present Psychological Research Findings: A Brief Introduction

Psychological research is increasingly reliant on high-dimensionality data and complex statistical methods. This offers many benefits, but also entails many challenges. One challenge is that of effective communication. It can be difficult to clearly and concisely communicate trends from series of advanced models and multidimensional data through tables, figures, and narration alone. Auditory displays (AD), or the sound-based representations of data and statistical results, are one tool for helping to address this challenge. AD provide a means of quickly conveying a large quantity of information in a way that is accessible to professional and lay audiences alike. Although AD are often used in other scientific disciplines, they are largely absent from the field of psychology. This article thus provides an introduction to AD and its potential advantages for psychological researchers. As part of this effort, a series of accessible AD are included that readers can interact with and apply to their own work. The overarching goal is to provide researchers with another, somewhat novel, tool for effectively disseminating their research.

Sex Differences in Maintaining the Requested Handgrip Force Enhanced by Auditory or Visual Feedback

Thus far, the differences in effect of auditory or visual feedback in motor learning have presented results derived from mixed groups and sex differences have not been considered. However, perception and processing of auditory stimuli and performance of visual motor tasks appear to be sex-related. The purpose of this study was to investigate the learning of the simple motor task of maintaining a requested handgrip force in separate male and female groups. A total of 31 volunteers (15 males, 16 females) were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups with defined sex and training conditions (audio or visual feedback). Participants performed training sessions over a period of six days, for which auditory or visual feedback was provided, and the effectiveness of both types of signals was compared. The evident learning effect was found in all groups, and the main effect of sex was significant among visual groups in favor of the males (p < 0.05). On the other hand, the main effect of feedback conditions was found to be significant among females, beneficially in the case of auditory displays (p < 0.05). The results lead to the conclusion that an equal number of males and females in mixed experimental groups may be supportive to obtain reliable results. Moreover, in motor-learning studies conducted on females only, a design including auditory feedback would be more suitable.

Exploring Design Constructs In Sound Design With A Focus On Perceived Affordance

While design theories in visual displays have been well developed and further refined, relatively little research has been conducted on design theories and models in auditory displays. The existing discussions mainly account for functional mappings between sounds and referents, but these do not fully address design aspects of auditory displays. To bridge the gap, the present proposal focuses on design affordances in sound design among many design constructs. To this end, the definition and components of design affordances are briefly explored, followed by the auditory display examples of those components to gauge whether sound can deliver perceived affordances in interactive products. Finally, other design constructs, such as feedback and signifier, are discussed together with future work. This exploratory proposal is expected to contribute to elaborating sound design theory and practice.

Toward a Better Understanding of In-Vehicle Auditory Warnings and Background Noise

Objective: The effectiveness of three types of in-vehicle warnings was assessed in a driving simulator across different noise conditions. Background: Although there has been much research comparing different types of warnings in auditory displays and interfaces, many of these investigations have been conducted in quiet laboratory environments with little to no consideration of background noise. Furthermore, the suitability of some auditory warning types, such as spearcons, as car warnings has not been investigated. Method: Two experiments were conducted to assess the effectiveness of three auditory warnings (spearcons, text-to-speech, auditory icons) with different types of background noise while participants performed a simulated driving task. Results: Our results showed that both the nature of the background noise and the type of auditory warning influenced warning recognition accuracy and reaction time. Spearcons outperformed text-to-speech warnings in relatively quiet environments, such as in the baseline noise condition where no music or talk-radio was played. However, spearcons were not better than text-to-speech warnings with other background noises. Similarly, the effectiveness of auditory icons as warnings fluctuated across background noise, but, overall, auditory icons were the least efficient of the three warning types. Conclusion: Our results supported that background noise can have an idiosyncratic effect on a warning’s effectiveness and illuminated the need for future research into ameliorating the effects of background noise. Application: This research can be applied to better present warnings based on the anticipated auditory environment in which they will be communicated.