An Ear to the Sky: Intuitive Exploration & Discovery in Astronomical Data using Sonification

倾听天空：直觉探索

基本信息

批准号：
ST/X004651/1
负责人：
James Trayford
金额：
$ 55.22万
依托单位：
University of Portsmouth
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2023
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2023 至无数据
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ST%2FX004651%2F1
关键词：
Ear Sky Intuitive Exploration Discovery

项目摘要

The recent decades of astronomy has seen an ever more detailed physical picture of our Universe emerge, with the enhanced sophistication of observations and physical models. However, the growing detail and volume of data presents its own problems; human data exploration can become overwhelming, despite its central role in historical scientific discovery. Machine-learning tools have arisen to help, but human intuition for the data remains key to their development and interpretation. This problem afflicts how we interface with data at all levels, from high-level research, to presenting data to the public. What's more, the visual bias of data presentation excludes those with visual impairments, likely contributing to a strong underrepresentation of Visually Impaired (VI) researchers in the field. For this program we propose development of novel tools and techniques for 'sonification' (encoding data into sound) to provide a unique perspective on astronomical data sets, in particular the STRAUSS code (Sonification Tools and Resources for Analysis Using Sound Synthesis). This free and open source python library uses an object-oriented and abstracted approach to allow uses to 'sonify' their own data, analogous to how a plotting library can be used for visualisation. STRAUSS will be used to sonify light spectra for classification, and as the basis for a novel IFU explorer, allowing users to hear the third frequency axis as they explore the 2D-projected spatial axes. We will also explore using STRAUSS to monitor high-volume data and as a way to present data to the public via a unique planetarium & VR show. Together, we intend to partner with commercial firms interested in human curation and exploration of big-data, as well as accessibility for a more inclusive society. Through commercial support we hope to maximise the broad societal and interdisciplinary benefits we perceive, establishing new intuition and accessibility for complex data in the global community.

最近几十年的天文学已经看到了我们宇宙出现的越来越详细的物理图片，并增强了观察和物理模型的复杂性。但是，日益增长的数据和数据量提出了自己的问题。尽管人类的数据探索在历史科学发现中具有核心作用，但仍会变得压倒性。机器学习工具已经出现了，但是人类对数据的直觉仍然是其开发和解释的关键。这个问题困扰着我们如何与从高级研究到向公众呈现数据的各个级别的数据互动。更重要的是，数据显示的视觉偏见不包括那些视觉障碍的人，可能导致该领域的视力障碍（VI）研究人员的强烈代表性不足。对于此程序，我们建议开发用于“超声”（将数据编码为声音）的新颖工具和技术开发，以提供有关天文学数据集的独特视角，尤其是Strauss Code（使用声音合成的索赔工具和资源）。这个免费的开源Python库使用了面向对象和抽象的方法来允许使用“超声”自己的数据，类似于如何将绘图库用于可视化。 Strauss将用于超声进行分类光谱，并用作新型IFU Explorer的基础，使用户在探索2D项目的空间轴时可以听到第三频轴的声音。我们还将探索使用Strauss监视大容量数据的方法，并通过独特的天文馆和VR节目向公众提供数据。我们共同打算与对人类策划和探索大数据有兴趣的商业公司合作，以及更具包容性社会的可访问性。通过商业支持，我们希望最大程度地提高我们所感知的广泛的社会和跨学科利益，从而为全球社区中的复杂数据建立新的直觉和可访问性。