Rotator: Flexible Distribution of Data Across Sensory Channels

Abstract

'Rotator’ is a web-based multisensory analysis interface that enables users to shift streams of multichannel scientific data between their auditory and visual sensory channels in order to better discern structure and anomaly in the data. This paper provides a technical overview of the Rotator tool as well as a discussion of the motivations for integrating flexible data display into future analysis and monitoring frameworks. An audio-visual presentation mode in which only a single stream is visualized at any given moment is identified as a particularly promising alternative to a purely visual information display mode. Auditory and visual excerpts from the interface are available at http://resenv.media.mit.edu/rotator.