The Visual Cortex as a Spatial Cortex Recruited by Sight and Sound: Implications for ‘Accessible InfoVis’
Peter Coppin, Tom Pokinko, Ambrose Li · SSRN Electronic Journal · 2014
This poster presents our initial prototypes that deliver sonic ‘translations’ of information visualizations, specifically focusing on financial charts and graphs. Our designs are guided by a simple but powerful idea: The visual cortex is actually a spatial cortex recruited by sight, sound, and touch. Many so-called information visualizations could be thought of as presenting information spatially (‘Information Spatializations’), engendering opportunities to ‘translate’ them into non-visual perceptual modes, such as sound and touch. Because of the ubiquitous sound capabilities on consumer computational devices, our initial prototypes demonstrate sonic translations of everyday spark lines and bar charts.