An empirical study was completed to investigate the effects of audition on spatial knowledge acquisition and workload within a virtual training environment. Four levels of audio were investigated including no audio, non-spatialized audio, and two forms of spatialized audio. While all training conditions led to significant decreases in workload, mental demand associated with knowledge of relative locations of dangerous areas was significantly less when trained with sound cues. The results also indicated that training with generalized spatial audio enhanced concentration. Results from this study outline the benefits of training with metaphoric audio cues to enhance spatial awareness. Future research will empirically examine effects of metaphoric haptic cues.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BegaultD. R. (1994) 3D sound for virtual reality and multimedia. Academic Press. 1994.
2.
BoliaR. S.D'AngeloW. R.McKinleyR. L. (1999). Aurally aided visual search in three-dimensional space. Human Factors, 41 (4), 664–669.
3.
EndsleyM. R. (1995). Toward a theory of situation awareness in dynamic systems. Human Factors, 37 (1), p. 32–64.
4.
GaverW. W. (1997). Auditory interfaces. In HelanderM.LandauerT. K.PrabhuP.Handbook of human-computer interaction (pp. 1003–1041). Amsterdam, Netherlands: North-Holland.
5.
HaleK. S.StanneyK. M.MilhamL.JonesD. (2005). Designing multi-modal sensory information displays for effective training. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science (TIES): Special Issue: Optimizing Virtual Training Systems. Under review.
6.
HartS.StavelandL. (1988). Development of NASA-TLX: Results of empirical and theoretical research. In HancockP.MeshkaiN.Human mental workload. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
7.
JonesD.L. (2005). The effects of realtime audio training in VE systems. Thesis in progress. University of Central Florida, USA.
8.
KennedyR. S.LaneN. E.BerbaumK. S.LilienthalM. G. (1993). Simulator sickness questionnaire: An enhanced method for quantifying simulator sickness. International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 3 (3), 203–220.
9.
McGookinS. A.WalkerA.BrewsterS. (2001). Diary in the sky: A spatial audio display for a mobile calendar. In IHM-HCI Proceedings (Lille, France, Interaction Homme- Machine - Human Computer Interaction, IHM-HCI) p. 531–540.
10.
NelsonW. T.HettingerL. J.CunninghamJ. A.BrickmanB. J.HaasM. W.McKinleyR. L. (1998). Effects of localized auditory information on visual target detection performance using a helmet-mounted display. Human Factors, 40 (3), 452–460.
11.
PerrottD. R.SaberiK.BrownK.StrybelT. Z. (1990). Auditory psychomotor coordination and visual search performance. Perception and Psychophysics, 48, 214–226.
12.
PeruchP.BelingardL.Thinus-BlancC. (2000). Transfer of spatial knowledge from virtual to real environments. In FreskaC.BrauerW.HabelC.WenderK. F.Spatial cognition II: Integrating abstract theories, empirical studies, formal methods, and practical applications (pp. 253–264). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
13.
RinalducciE. J. (1996). Characteristics of visual fidelity in the virtual environment. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 5 (3), p. 330–345.
14.
RoseF. D.AttreeE. A.BrooksB. M.ParslowD. M.PennP. R.AmbihaipahanN. (2000). Training in virtual environments: Transfer to real world tasks and equivalence to real task training. Ergonomics, 43 (4), 494–511.
15.
RudmannD. S.StrybelT. Z. (1999). Auditory spatial facilitation of visual search performance: Effect of cue precision and distractor density. Human Factors, 41, 146–160.
16.
SeeberB. U.FastlH. (2003). Subjective selection of non-individual head-related transfer functions. In: BrazilE.Shinn-CunninghamB.Proc. 9th Int. Conf. on Auditory Display (pp. 259–262).
17.
SelconS. J.TaylorR. M. (1989). Evaluation of the situational awareness rating technique (SART)as a tool for aircrew systems design. In Proceedings of the AGARD AMP Symposium on Situational Awareness in Aerospace Operations CP478. Seuilly-sur Seine: NATO AGARD.
18.
StuchlikA. (1998). Solving a spatial problem in the dark: Importance of substratal cues for the rat. Presented atINABIS 98 – 5th Internet World Congress on Biomedical Sciences. McMaster University, Canada, Dec 7-16th. http://www.mcmaster.ca/inabis98/;neuroscience/stuchlik597/index.html.
19.
WenzelE. M.ArrudaM.KistlerD. J.WightmanF. L. (1993). Localization using nonindividualized head-related transfer functions. Journal of the Acoustical Societyof America, 94, p 111–123.
20.
WierwilleW. W.CasaliJ. G. (1983). A validated rating scale for global mental workload measurement applications. In Proceedings of the 27th Annual Meeting of the HumanFactors Society (Santa Monica: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society), p. 129–133.
