Effectiveness of User Notification in Ambient Soundscapes
Abstract. In this paper we present an ambient audio notification system
for multi-user environments. It provides unobtrusive notification by
embedding audio cues in an ambient soundscape consisting of specially
arranged pieces of music. The audio cues are distinct either in their instrumentation or in their rhythmic pattern and complement a musical
core of the soundscape. To test the effectiveness of our system we conducted
a study with 25 subjects and compared notification effectiveness
and reaction speed between our approach and salient notification sounds
which were not embedded into the soundscape. We present the key findings
and some implications following from the evaluation of our study.