Minoru Kobayashi, Chris Schmandt

Abstract

Browsing audio data is not as easy as browsing printed documents because of the temporal nature of sound. This paper presents a browsing environment that provides a spatial interface for temporal navigation of audio data, taking advantage of human abilities of simultaneous listening and memory of spatial location. Instead of fast-forwarding or rewinding, users browse the audio data by switching their attention between moving sound sources that play multiple portions of a single audio recording. The motion of the sound sources maps temporal position within the audio recording onto spatial location, so that listeners can use their memory of spatial location to find a specific topic. This paper describes the iterative design approach toward the audio browsing system, including the development of user interface devices.