Tag: sonification

132 – Chinese Seismoscope

A seismoscope is a qualitative indicator of seismic activity -- as opposed to seismographs which show quantitative data, typically through line graphs. The oldest known seismoscope is Chinese and dates backs from 132. It was a large bronze device that dropped a ball into a bronze container (one of the eight frogs on the image above) every time an earthquake was detected, thus producing a loud sound. The direction of the earthquake could then be examined by looking at the container in which the […]

Added by: Yvonne Jansen. Category: Measuring instrument  Tags: China, seismometer, sonification


1850 – Merryweather's Leech Barometer

In 1850, British doctor and inventor George Merryweather built a barometer that uses live medicinal leeches to predict storms: The twelve leeches are kept in small bottles inside the device; when they become agitated by an approaching storm they attempt to climb out of the bottles and trigger a small hammer which strikes a bell. The likelihood of a storm is indicated by the number of times the bell is struck. The device, which Merryweather called the "tempest prognosticator", was shown at the […]

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic, sent by: Aurélien Tabard. Category: Measuring instrument  Tags: leeches, sonification, weather


2011 – Stephen Barrass' Physical Data Sonifications

Physical representations of data can target other senses than vision or touch. Stephen Barrass, one of the inventors of sonification in the late 90s and now at the University of Canberra, started to explore physical sonifications in 2011. He calls this principle Acoustic Sonification: Acoustic Sonifications are physical objects designed to make sounds that convey useful information about a dataset of some kind. Unlike other sonifications, they do not require a power supply, and the sounds are […]

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic, sent by: Yvonne Jansen. Category: Passive physical visualization  Tags: blood pressure, data jewellery, health, HRTF, sonification, sound


2014 – Pan-Anthem: Visualize Statistics Using National Anthems

"Pan-Anthem" is an interactive sound installation where the national anthem of every country in the World plays back on a movable speaker that is magnetically attached to a large wall. The speakers are precisely arranged to visualize national statistics: population, GDP, area, number of women in parliament, GINI, year of independence, HDI and so on. For example, when the work is configured to show military spending per capita, on the far left of the wall the public can hear the anthems of […]

Added by: Karine Charbonneau. Category: Uncertain  Tags: Anthems, loudspeakers, national statistics, sonification