Abstract In this paper several meaningful audio icons of classic arcade games such as Pong, Donkey Kong, Mario World and Pac-Man are analyzed, using the PRAAT software for speech analysis and musical theory. The analysis results are used to describe how these examples of best practice sound design obtain their meaning in the player's perception. Some aspects can be related to the use of tonal hierarchy (e.g. Donkey Kong and Mario World) which is a western culture related aspect of musical meaning. Other aspects are related to universal expressions of meaning such as the theory of misattribution, prosody, vocalization and cross-modal perceptions such as brightness and the uncanny valley hypothesis. Recent studies in the field of cognitive neuroscience support the universal and meaningful potential of all these aspects. The relationship between language related prosody, vocalization and phonology, and music seems to be an especially successful design principle for universally meaningful music icons in game sound design.
A substantial amount of studies have addressed the influence of sound on human performance. In many of these, however, the large acoustic differences between experimental conditions prevent a direct translation of the results to realistic effects of room acoustic interventions. This review identifies those studies which can be, in principle, translated to (changes in) room acoustic parameters and adds to the knowledge about the influence of the indoor sound environment on people. The review procedure is based on the effect room acoustics can have on the relevant quantifiers of the sound environment in a room or space. 272 papers containing empirical findings on the influence of sound or noise on some measure of human performance were found. Of these, only 12 papers complied with this review's criteria. A conceptual framework is suggested based on the analysis of results, positioning the role of room acoustics in the influence of sound on task performance. Furthermore, valuable insights are pre- sented that can be used in future studies on this topic. Whi le the influence of the sound environment on performance is clearly an issue in many situations, evidence regarding the effectiveness of strategies to control the sound environment by room acoustic design is lacking and should be a focus area in future studies.
Deze casestudie geeft inzicht in verschillende soorten kennis die kenmerkend zijn voor applied design research. Er wordt onderscheid gemaakt tussen kennis over de huidige situatie, over wenselijke alternatieven en over effectieve oplossingen om daar te komen. Ofwel, kennis hoe het is, kennis over hoe het kan zijn en kennis over hoe het zal zijn als we effectieve oplossingen toepassen. Elk van deze soorten kennis heeft andere kwaliteitscriteria.
This PD project aims to gather new knowledge through artistic and participatory design research within neighbourhoods for possible ways of addressing and understanding the avoidance and numbness caused by feelings of vulnerability, discomfort and pain associated with eco-anxiety and chronic fear of environmental doom. The project will include artistic production and suitable forms of fieldwork. The objectives of the PD are to find answers to the practice problem of society which call for art that sensitises, makes aware and helps initiate behavioural change around the consequences of climate change. Rather than visualize future sea levels directly, it will seek to engage with climate change in a metaphorical and poetic way. Neither a doom nor an overly techno-optimistic scenario seem useful to understand the complexity of flood risk management or the dangers of flooding. By challenging both perspectives with artistic means, this research hopes to counter eco-anxiety and create a sense of open thought and susceptibility to new ideas, feelings and chains of thought. Animation and humour, are possible ingredients. The objective is to find and create multiple Dutch water stories, not just one. To achieve this, it is necessary to develop new methods for selecting and repurposing existing impactful stories and strong images. Citizens and students will be included to do so via fieldwork. In addition, archival materials will be used. Archives serve as a repository for memory recollection and reuse, selecting material from the audiovisual archive of the Institute of Sound & Vision will be a crucial part of the creative work which will include two films and accompanying music.
Despite their various appealing features, drones also have some undesirable side-effects. One of them is the psychoacoustic effect that originates from their buzzing noise that causes significant noise pollutions. This has an effect on nature (animals run away) and on humans (noise nuisance and thus stress and health problems). In addition, these buzzing noises contribute to alerting criminals when low-flying drones are deployed for safety and security applications. Therefore, there is an urgent demand from SMEs for practical knowledge and technologies that make existing drones silent, which is the main focus of this project. This project contributes directly to the KET Digital Innovations\Robotics and multiple themes of the top sectors: Agriculture, Water and Food, Health & Care and Safety. The main objective of this project is: Investigate the desirability and possibilities of extremely silent drone technologies for agriculture, public space and safety This is an innovative project and there exist no such drone technology that attempts to reduce the noises coming from drones. The knowledge within this project will be converted into the first proof-of-concepts that makes the technology the first Minimum Viable Product suitable for market evaluations. The partners of this project include WhisperUAV, which has designed the first concept of a silent drone. As a fiber-reinforced 3D composite component printer, Fiberneering plays a crucial role in the (further) development of silent drone technologies into testable prototypes. Sorama is involved as an expert company in the context of mapping the sound fields in and around drones. The University of Twente is involved as a consultant and co-developer, and Research group of mechatronics at Saxion is involved as concept developer, system and user requirement verifier and validator. As an unmanned systems innovation cluster, Space53 will be involved as innovation and networking consultant.
Het project “Maakprocessen Compositie en Sound Design - Stimulering van creatie in de creatieve werkvelden door middel van onderzoek door makers voor makers” is tot stand gekomen in samenspraak met de BCMM (Beroepsvereniging Componisten Multimedia) en zeven componisten en sound designers. Het project beoogt een goed voorbeeld te ontwikkelen van de manier waarop componisten en sound designers kunnen samenwerken aan het ontwikkelen van maakprocessen zonder dat dit te veel tijd kost. Deze professionalisering is ook nodig omdat componisten en sound designers, net als andere professionals in de creatieve werkvelden, steeds duidelijker moeten kunnen communiceren met derden over hun manier van werken. Het is de bedoeling het project te relateren aan een tweede KIEM-aanvraag en een RAAKmkb-aanvraag in dit resp. het komende jaar. De outputs zijn, naast de professionalisering van de betrokken componisten en sound designers, presentaties voor collega-componisten van deze manier van samenwerken en hetgeen het oplevert, en een publicatie van lessons learned door het lectoraat.
