Papers by Michael Quinton Ph.D
Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Auditory Display - ICAD 2016
Sound is potentially an effective way of analysing data and it is possible to simultaneously inte... more Sound is potentially an effective way of analysing data and it is possible to simultaneously interpret layers of sounds and identify changes. Multiple attempts to use sound with scientific data have been made, with varying levels of success. On many occasions this was done without including the end user during the development. In this study a sonified model of the 8 planets of our solar system was built and tested using an end user approach. The sonification was created for the Esplora Planetarium, which is currently being constructed in Malta. The data requirements were gathered from a member of the planetarium staff, and 12 end users, as well as the planetarium representative tested the sonification. The results suggest that listeners were able to discern various planetary characteristics without requiring any additional information. Three out of eight sound design parameters did not represent characteristics successfully. These issues have been identified and further development ...
Proceedings of the 15th International Audio Mostly Conference
This study investigates the effectiveness of user design methods to create a sonification for an ... more This study investigates the effectiveness of user design methods to create a sonification for an astronomer who analyses exoplanet meteorological data situated in habitable zones. Requirements about the astronomer's work, the dataset and how to sonify it utilising Grounded Theory were identified. Parameter mapping sonification was used to represent effective transiting radii measurements through subtractive synthesis and spatialization. The design was considered to be effective, allowing the instantaneous identification of a water feature overlooked on a visual graph, even when noise within the dataset overlapped the source signal. The results suggest that multiple parameter mappings provide richer auditory stimuli and semantic qualities in order to allow an improved understanding of the dataset.
Exploring the Urban Mediterranean Soundscapes in Cyprus and Malta: A Comparative Study
The contemporary Mediterranean Soundscape is a living organism, articulated by the ever-changing ... more The contemporary Mediterranean Soundscape is a living organism, articulated by the ever-changing landscape, the growing building sprawl and vibrant urban activity. Accordingly, in Mediterranean Urban areas, towns’ identities are shaped partly by the rhythms of the everyday life of their inhabitants. This article approaches the contemporary soundscape of two Mediterranean places: the city centre of Nicosia in Cyprus and the urban areas of Malta. After practicing two respective soundwalks to describe the places’ sonic environments, the research uses eighteen in-depth interviews to examine the relationship between the cities’ inhabitants and their soundscape, and to explore the way people identify characteristic sounds of their place. The people of these islands appear to identify the soundscape of their place in a parallel, if not similar, way, giving particular attributes to key features of the Mediterranean soundscape. Through this study, the article outlines such similarities, as w...
Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Auditory Display - ICAD 2018, 2018
This study aims to provide an insight into effective sonification design. There are currently no ... more This study aims to provide an insight into effective sonification design. There are currently no standardized design methods, allowing a creative development approach. Sonifcation has been implemented in many different applications from scientific data representation to novel styles of musical expression. This means that methods of practice can vary a greatly. The indistinct line between art and science might be the reason why sonification is still sometimes deemed by scientists with a degree of scepticism. Some wellestablished practitioners argue that it is poor design that renders sonifications meaningless, in-turn having an adverse effect on acceptance. To gain a deeper understanding about sonification research and development 11 practitioners were interviewed. They were asked about methods of sonification design and their insights. The findings present information about sonification research and development, and a variety of views regarding sonification design practice.
Sonifying the solar system for a Planetarium
Humanity has always measured the stars and has built models of what was perceivable according to ... more Humanity has always measured the stars and has built models of what was perceivable according to the technology available at that particular time. Through the advancement in various technologies it is now possible to look into deep space and to observe and discover planets, solar systems and galaxies that were not perceivable before. This means that there is much more data to be analysed and more effective and efficient means of data analysis are required. Sound has been used for measurement for hundreds of years, since it is a mathematical representation. Sound is an efficient and effective way of analysing data and we can hear layers of sounds simultaneously and easily make distinctions when changes occur. Many attempts to use sound with scientific data have been made. This was done without including the ‘end user’ and many of these sonifications were ineffective. In this study a sonified model of the 8 planets of our solar system was built and tested using an ‘end user’ approach. The end user was the Esplora Planetarium which is being built in Malta. The data was gathered from the planetarium and the sound was designed around that data. The sound design was tested on 11 participants and on a representative from the planetarium. The results show that listeners were able to discern various planetary characteristics without having any information about the planets they were listening to. Certain sound design parameters did not represent particular planetary characteristics correctly. These issues can be arranged and further testing can be done in order to fine tune the model.
Sonifying the Solar System - ICAD 2016
This study investigates the effectiveness of user design methods to create a sonification for an ... more This study investigates the effectiveness of user design methods to create a sonification for an astronomer who analyses exoplanet meteorological data situated in habitable zones. Requirements about the astronomer's work, the dataset and how to sonify it utilising Grounded Theory were identified. Parameter mapping sonification was used to represent effective transiting radii measurements through subtractive synthesis and spatialization. The design was considered to be effective, allowing the instantaneous identification of a water feature overlooked on a visual graph, even when noise within the dataset overlapped the source signal. The results suggest that multiple parameter mappings provide richer auditory stimuli and semantic qualities in order to allow an improved understanding of the dataset.
Audio Mostly 2021, 2021
This study investigates the design and evaluation of a sonification designed to detect any planet... more This study investigates the design and evaluation of a sonification designed to detect any planets orbiting within an asteroid belt of an exosolar system. The interface was designed for an astronomer who studies this phenomenon. User centered design methods were applied to create an accurate sonification of the data that could allow the astronomer to perceive possible planetary movements within an asteroid belt. The sonification was developed over three stages: A requirements gathering exercise inquiring about the data that the astronomer uses in her work. A design and development stage based on the findings of the requirements gathering and the third stage, an evaluation of the sonification design. The sonification effectively allowed the astronomer to immediately detect a planet orbiting within an asteroid belt. Multiple parameter mappings provide richer auditory stimuli that are more semantical to the user. The use of more familiar, natural sounding sound design led to a clearer comprehension of the dataset. The use of spatial mapping and movement allowed for immediate identification and understanding of the planet's course through the asteroid belt. CCS CONCEPTS Human-centered computing →Interaction design→Interaction design process and methods →User centered design.
Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Auditory Display - ICAD 2016, Jul 1, 2016
Sound is potentially an effective way of analysing data and it is possible to simultaneously inte... more Sound is potentially an effective way of analysing data and it is possible to simultaneously interpret layers of sounds and identify changes. Multiple attempts to use sound with scientific data have been made, with varying levels of success. On many occasions this was done without including the end user during the development. In this study a sonified model of the 8 planets of our solar system was built and tested using an end user approach. The sonification was created for the Esplora Planetarium, which is currently being constructed in Malta. The data requirements were gathered from a member of the planetarium staff, and 12 end users, as well as the planetarium representative tested the sonification. The results suggest that listeners were able to discern various planetary characteristics without requiring any additional information. Three out of eight sound design parameters did not represent characteristics successfully. These issues have been identified and further development will be conducted in order to improve the model.
This is an introductory study of the Maltese Soundscape and is part of an even bigger project. It... more This is an introductory study of the Maltese Soundscape and is part of an even bigger project. It introduces a soundscape diced with traditional sounds which still echo in the present and mutate and conflict with the modern sounds that are becoming part of the Maltese Sound field. This paper shows the study that has taken place, the results that have been obtained so far and the patterns in the soundscape that are beginning to form. From this initial analysis a number of possible solutions to noise problems have been presented. Further in depth investigations will be carried out and reported.
This study investigated the design and evaluation of a sonification, created for an astronomer wh... more This study investigated the design and evaluation of a sonification, created for an astronomer who studies exosolar accretion discs. User design methods were applied to sonify data that could allow the classification of accretion discs. The sonification was developed over three stages: a requirements gathering exercise that inquired about the astronomer’s work and the data, design and development, as well as an evaluation. Twenty datasets were sonified and analysed. The sonification effectively represented the accretion discs allowing the astronomer to commence a preliminary, comparative classification. Multiple parameter mappings provide rich auditory stimuli. Spatial mapping and movement allow for easier identification of fast changes and peaks in the data which improved the understanding of the extent of these changes.
Audio Mostly, 2021
This study investigates the design and evaluation of a sonification designed to detect any planet... more This study investigates the design and evaluation of a sonification designed to detect any planets orbiting within an asteroid belt of an exosolar system. The interface was designed for an astronomer who studies this phenomenon. User centered design methods were applied to create an accurate sonification of the data that could allow the astronomer to perceive possible planetary movements within an asteroid belt. The sonification was developed over three stages: A requirements gathering exercise inquiring about the data that the astronomer uses in her work. A design and development stage based on the findings of the requirements gathering and the third stage, an evaluation of the sonification design. The sonification effectively allowed the astronomer to immediately detect a planet orbiting within an asteroid belt. Multiple parameter mappings provide richer auditory stimuli that are more semantical to the user. The use of more familiar, natural sounding sound design led to a clearer comprehension of the dataset. The use of spatial mapping and movement allowed for immediate identification and understanding of the planet's course through the asteroid belt. CCS CONCEPTS • Human-centered computing; • Interaction design; • Interaction design process and methods; • User centered design;
International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD), 2021
This study investigated the design and evaluation of a sonification, created for an astronomer wh... more This study investigated the design and evaluation of a sonification, created for an astronomer who studies exosolar accretion discs. User design methods were applied to sonify data that could allow the classification of accretion discs. The sonification was developed over three stages: a requirements gathering exercise that inquired about the astronomer's work and the data, design and development, as well as an evaluation. Twenty datasets were sonified and analysed. The sonification effectively represented the accretion discs allowing the astronomer to commence a preliminary, comparative classification. Multiple parameter mappings provide rich auditory stimuli. Spatial mapping and movement allow for easier identification of fast changes and peaks in the data which improved the understanding of the extent of these changes.
ICAD, 2018
This study aims to provide an insight into effective sonification design. There are currently no ... more This study aims to provide an insight into effective sonification design. There are currently no standardized design methods, allowing a creative development approach. Sonifcation has been implemented in many different applications from scientific data representation to novel styles of musical expression. This means that methods of practice can vary a greatly. The indistinct line between art and science might be the reason why sonification is still sometimes deemed by scientists with a degree of scepticism. Some well-established practitioners argue that it is poor design that renders sonifications meaningless, in-turn having an adverse effect on acceptance. To gain a deeper understanding about sonification research and development 11 practitioners were interviewed. They were asked about methods of sonification design and their insights. The findings present information about sonification research and development, and a variety of views regarding sonification design practice.
Audio Mostly , 2020
This study investigates the effectiveness of user design methods to create a sonification for an ... more This study investigates the effectiveness of user design methods to create a sonification for an astronomer who analyses exoplanet meteorological data situated in habitable zones. Requirements about the astronomer's work, the dataset and how to sonify it utilising Grounded Theory were identified. Parameter mapping sonification was used to represent effective transiting radii measurements through subtractive synthesis and spatialization. The design was considered to be effective, allowing the instantaneous identification of a water feature overlooked on a visual graph, even when noise within the dataset overlapped the source signal. The results suggest that multiple parameter mappings provide richer auditory stimuli and semantic qualities in order to allow an improved understanding of the dataset. CCS CONCEPTS Human-centered computing →Interaction design→ Interaction design process and methods → User centered design;
To uncover the secrets of exoplanets, try listening to them
Sonification has huge potential in deepening our understanding of exoplanets across the universe.... more Sonification has huge potential in deepening our understanding of exoplanets across the universe. In years to come it should become an additional tool for revealing the secrets beyond our solar system. We like to say that seeing is believing, but hearing could be the key to truly understanding our universe.
Sound is potentially an effective way of analysing data and it is possible to simultaneously inte... more Sound is potentially an effective way of analysing data and it is possible to simultaneously interpret layers of sounds and identify changes. Multiple attempts to use sound with scientific data have been made, with varying levels of success. On many occasions this was done without including the end user during the development. In this study a sonified model of the 8 planets of our solar system was built and tested using an end user approach. The sonification was created for the Esplora Planetarium, which is currently being constructed in Malta. The data requirements were gathered from a member of the planetarium staff, and 12 end users, as well as the planetarium representative tested the sonification. The results suggest that listeners were able to discern various planetary characteristics without requiring any additional information. Three out of eight sound design parameters did not represent characteristics successfully. These issues have been identified and further development will be conducted in order to improve the model.
The contemporary Mediterranean Soundscape is a living organism, articulated by the ever-changing ... more The contemporary Mediterranean Soundscape is a living organism, articulated by the ever-changing landscape, the growing building sprawl and vibrant urban activity. Accordingly, in Mediterranean Urban areas, towns’ identities are shaped partly by the rhythms of the everyday life of their inhabitants.
This article approaches the contemporary soundscape of two Mediterranean places: the city centre of Nicosia in Cyprus and the urban areas of Malta. After practicing two respective soundwalks to describe the places’ sonic environments, the research uses eighteen in-depth interviews to examine the relationship between the cities’ inhabitants and their soundscape, and to explore the way people identify characteristic sounds of their place. The people of these islands appear to identify the soundscape of their place in a parallel, if not similar, way, giving particular attributes to key features of the Mediterranean soundscape. Through this study, the article outlines such similarities, as well as differences between the two soundscapes.
Humanity has always measured the stars and has built models of what was perceivable according to ... more Humanity has always measured the stars and has built models of what was perceivable according to the technology available at that particular time. Through the advancement in various technologies it is now possible to look into deep space and to observe and discover planets, solar systems and galaxies that were not perceivable before. This means that there is much more data to be analysed and more effective and efficient means of data analysis are required. Sound has been used for measurement for hundreds of years, since it is a mathematical representation. Sound is an efficient and effective way of analysing data and we can hear layers of sounds simultaneously and easily make distinctions when changes occur. Many attempts to use sound with scientific data have been made. This was done without including the ‘end user’ and many of these sonifications were ineffective. In this study a sonified model of the 8 planets of our solar system was built and tested using an ‘end user’ approach. The end user was the Esplora Planetarium which is being built in Malta. The data was gathered from the planetarium and the sound was designed around that data. The sound design was tested on 11 participants and on a representative from the planetarium. The results show that listeners were able to discern various planetary characteristics without having any information about the planets they were listening to. Certain sound design parameters did not represent particular planetary characteristics correctly. These issues can be arranged and further testing can be done in order to fine tune the model.
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Papers by Michael Quinton Ph.D
This article approaches the contemporary soundscape of two Mediterranean places: the city centre of Nicosia in Cyprus and the urban areas of Malta. After practicing two respective soundwalks to describe the places’ sonic environments, the research uses eighteen in-depth interviews to examine the relationship between the cities’ inhabitants and their soundscape, and to explore the way people identify characteristic sounds of their place. The people of these islands appear to identify the soundscape of their place in a parallel, if not similar, way, giving particular attributes to key features of the Mediterranean soundscape. Through this study, the article outlines such similarities, as well as differences between the two soundscapes.