{{Short description|Presentation of data as sound}} [[File:Geiger counter sound KCl.oga|thumb|right|The sound of a geiger counter. One of the first examples of data sonification.]] '''Data sonification''' is the presentation of data as sound using sonification. It is the auditory equivalent of the more established practice of data visualization.

== Process == The usual process for data sonification is directing digital media of a dataset through a software synthesizer and into a digital-to-analog converter to produce sound for humans to experience.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kaper |first1=H.G. |last2=Wiebel |first2=E. |last3=Tipei |first3=S. |title=Data sonification and sound visualization |journal=Computing in Science & Engineering |pages=48–58 |doi=10.1109/5992.774840 |date=1999|volume=1 |issue=4 |arxiv=cs/0007007 |bibcode=1999CSE.....1d..48K |s2cid=8087002 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Madhyastha |first1=Tara |last2=Reed |first2=Daniel |date=1995 |title=Data sonification: Do you see what I hear |url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=b0238f0064ac380e6891093d70c3d9d86bb788cf |journal=IEEE Software|volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=45–56 |doi=10.1109/52.368264 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Scaletti |first=Carla |url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/28278/chapter/214422754 |title=Sonification ≠ Music |date=2018-02-05 |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor-last=Dean |editor-first=Roger T. |volume=1 |language=en |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190226992.013.9 |isbn=978-0-19-022699-2 |editor-last2=McLean |editor-first2=Alex}}</ref> Benefits to interpreting data through sonification include accessibility, pattern recognition, education, and artistic expression.<ref name=":0" />

== Applications == Applications of data sonification include astronomy studies of star creation,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Guglielmi |first1=Giorgia |title=Meet the scientist who turns data into music—and listen to the sound of a neutron star |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/meet-scientist-who-turns-data-music-and-listen-sound-neutron-star |website=Science |language=en |date=21 July 2017}}</ref> interpreting cluster analysis,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hermann |first1=T |last2=Ritter |first2=H |title=Advances in intelligent computation and multimedia systems |publisher=International Institute for Advanced Studies in Systems Research and Cybernetics |isbn=0-921836-80-5 |chapter=Listen to your Data: Model-Based Sonification for Data Analysis|year=1999 }}</ref> and geoscience.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Romans |first1=Brian |title=Data Sonification |url=https://www.wired.com/2007/04/data-sonification/ |magazine=Wired |date=11 April 2007}}</ref> Various projects describe the production of sonifications as a collaboration between scientists and musicians.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beans |first1=Carolyn |title=Science and Culture: Musicians join scientists to explore data through sound |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=1 May 2017 |volume=114 |issue=18 |pages=4563–4565 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1705325114|pmid=28461386 |pmc=5422826 |bibcode=2017PNAS..114.4563B |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Maroune |first=Dr Manil Maskey and Abdelhak |date=2023-04-28 |title=From Data to Melody: Data Sonification and Its Role in Open Science {{!}} Earthdata |url=https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/blog/data-sonification-open-science |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=www.earthdata.nasa.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Middleton |first1=Jonathan |last2=Hakulinen |first2=Jaakko |last3=Tiitinen |first3=Katariina |last4=Hella |first4=Juho |last5=Keskinen |first5=Tuuli |last6=Huuskonen |first6=Pertti |last7=Culver |first7=Jeffrey |last8=Linna |first8=Juhani |last9=Turunen |first9=Markku |last10=Ziat |first10=Mounia |last11=Raisamo |first11=Roope |date=2023-08-10 |title=Data-to-music sonification and user engagement |journal=Frontiers in Big Data |volume=6 |doi=10.3389/fdata.2023.1206081 |doi-access=free |issn=2624-909X |pmc=10448511 |pmid=37636320}}</ref>

A target demographic for using data sonification is the blind community because of the inaccessibility of data visualizations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhao |first1=Haixia |last2=Plaisant |first2=Catherine |last3=Shneiderman |first3=Ben |last4=Lazar |first4=Jonathan |title=Data Sonification for Users with Visual Impairment |journal=ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction |date=1 May 2008 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=1–28 |doi=10.1145/1352782.1352786|s2cid=17199537 }}</ref>

One of the earliest examples of data sonification is the Geiger counter, which measures ionizing radiation through sound.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is Sonification - Accessible Oceans |url=https://accessibleoceans.whoi.edu/what-is-sonification/ |access-date=May 30, 2024 |website=Accessible Oceans - what is sonification |language=en-US}}</ref> Another notable example of data sonification is NASA's processing of images from space telescopes into sounds.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sonifications - NASA Science |url=https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/multimedia/sonifications/ |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=science.nasa.gov |language=en-US}}</ref>

== See also ==

* Geiger counter * Sonification - communication with sound, especially including machine-generated non-verbal sound * Auditory display - equivalent of a computer monitor, except with sound * Audification - subset of sonification which is the auditory equivalent of visual design, including data sonification within the broad field of design

==References== {{reflist}}

==Further media== *{{cite book |editor1-last=Kramer |editor1-first=Gregory |title=Auditory display : sonification, audification, and auditory interfaces |url=https://archive.org/details/auditorydisplays00greg |url-access=registration |date=1994 |publisher=Addison-Wesley |isbn=978-0201626049}}

== External links == *[https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/hear-sounds-of-the-sea-in-sonifications Sounds of the Sea] at NASA.gov *[https://sonification.design/ Data sonification archive] - See (and hear) several examples of data sonification *[https://www.icad.org/websiteV2.0/Conferences/ICAD96/proc96/lodha.htm Data sonification toolkit] from the University of Santa Cruz

Category:Data Category:Data and information visualization Category:Augmentative and alternative communication Category:Assistive technology Category:Data processing