Abstract
Smart Things , with sensors, data processing and communications technologies embedded in them, are now pervading our everyday world. Smart Things connected by the Internet of Things have web-based interfaces that can be accessed on mobile devices . However, the disconnected interface introduces a Gulf of Evaluation that potentially reduces the usability of interactions with a Smart Thing . This chapter explores sonic interfaces to Smart Things to close this Gulf. The first section describes an interactive couch that purrs when it is stroked, modeled on human communications with pets. This resulted in the development of a method for designing affective sounds for interactive products. The next section describes an investigation into the aesthetics of sonic feedback in mobile Apps. The results indicated that more recreational users prefer more musical sounds, whilst more competitive users prefer more functional sounding feedback. In the next section we explored the functionality of embedding real-time sonifications as interfaces to Smart Things designed for outdoor activities. The technical challenges of synthesizing sounds on an Arduino microprocessor resulted in the development of the open source Mozzi library for embedded sonification . The final section describes artistic installations and scientific projects created by the Mozzi community.
“All our knowledge has its origin in the senses.”
—Leonardo da Vinci
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Barrass, S., Barrass, T. (2014). Making Things Growl, Purr and Sing. In: Lee, N. (eds) Digital Da Vinci. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0536-2_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0536-2_8
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