mig@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Meir) (06/19/91)
I recall one scientist who used sound to monitor the output from a device which reads the genetic codes of a tissue sample. He was trying to look for certain genetic defects, by screening a large number of samples. Each sample results in a list of hundreds or thousands of numbers as genetic parameters. By selecting a different pitch for each number, he was able to screen samples MUCH faster, since the defective samples simply didn't SOUND RIGHT! Presumably, one could use this techinique to analyze the brainwaves of an animal or the processes in a computer! This would NOT be fun for routine use, except at VERY low volumes. But if, lets say, you needed to test hundreds of machines.... I probably didn't tell the above story correctly, but the idea is there. * * * * * * ====================== Meir Green * * * * * * ====================== (Internet) mig@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu * * * * * * ====================== meir@msb.com mig@asteroids.cs.columbia.edu * * * * * * ====================== (Amateur Radio) N2JPG
kwb@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (Keith Blackwell) (06/29/91)
E A R C O N S This thread reminds me of a report I read in one of Lawrence Livermore Lab's annual publications from about '85 or '86. Some group there was researching the use of what they called "earcons". Earcon is the obvious name for an auditory analog to an icon (eye-con). Their earcons were short tonal sequences whose structures (pitch-and-waveshape sequences) were organized such that similar messages had similar earcons. Of course, this type of application is for a pre-determined set of common messages, such as system error, warning, and status messages. It doesn't address the idea of using sound to analyze arbitrary data. -- Keith Blackwell (my employer has nothing to do with this)