Multilevel Auditory Displays for Mobile Eyes-free Location-based Interaction

This paper explores the use of multilevel auditory displays to enable eyes-free mobile interaction with location-based information in a conceptual art exhibition space. Multilevel auditory displays enable user interaction with concentrated areas of information. However, it is necessary to consider how to present the auditory streams without overloading the user. We present an initial study in which a top-level exocentric sonification layer was used to advertise information present in a gallery-like space. Then, in a secondary interactive layer, three different conditions were evaluated that varied in the presentation (sequential versus simultaneous) and spatialisation (non-spatialised versus egocentric spatialisation) of multiple auditory sources. Results show that 1) participants spent significantly more time interacting with spatialised displays, 2) there was no evidence that a switch from an exocentric to an egocentric display increased workload or lowered satisfaction, and 3) there was no evidence that simultaneous presentation of spatialised Earcons in the secondary display increased workload.