An evaluation of various spatial audio rendering and presentation techniques to enhance active navigation with sensory augmentation

Abstract

Active navigation is essential in everyday life and refers to the combination of cognition (spatial mapping, path planning, and decision making) and motor-sensory execution (moving and sensing environment). For people who are blind or have low-vision, auditory and tactile sensory augmentation is critical to active navigation. In assistive technologies, binaural spatial audio rendering is widely adopted. However, the most effective methods to support fluent spatial navigation are still being studied. For example, in a previous study, we demonstrated the feasibility of using spatialized earcons to support a shorelining task. In this work, we use the same shorelining task to explore various forms of spatial earcon presentation with a focus on standardization and effectiveness. We also explore the development of an intuitive auditory grammar for spatial and contextual cues. We conduct psychophysical experiments and present experimental measures such as performance time and accuracy, heart-rate variability, and the NASA task load index.