cacophonography

a community-generated map of soundpowered by pervasive computing

Jake Coolidge -- Geog 239: Geographic Information Technology Seminar -- December 2009

cacophonographycacophony

a mix of discordantsounds, dissonance

geographythe study of

the earth’s surface

+

cacophonography

“dissonance writing”—a forum for diverse voices

phonograph: analogous to photograph;a captured sound recording (Drury 2006)

cacophonography

phonograph: analogous to photograph;a captured sound recording (Drury 2006)

cacophonography

phonography: the art of recording sounds from theenvironment around us, with an emphasis on theunintentional sounds which often go unnoticedin our daily lives. (after www.SoundTransit.nl 2009)

phonograph: analogous to photograph;a captured sound recording (Drury 2006)

cacophonography

phonography: the art of recording sounds from theenvironment around us, with an emphasis on theunintentional sounds which often go unnoticedin our daily lives. (after www.SoundTransit.nl 2009)

public documentation of theworld of sound

Image sources: cnet.com, nysoundmap.org

situated sounds

cacophony + geography

simultaneous sounds

project goals:• community-generated and monitored• web-based• leverages mobile technologies, particularly

smartphones, for both:➡collecting sound recordings associated with

specific map coordinates, and➡viewing/listening to maps associated with the

user’s location• freely available• open-source

efforts to map sound: urban planning and design

improving urban spaces by understanding how ambient sounds either enhance or diminish their quality, and designing accordingly

sound in multimedia GIS for planning and decision support

Kyong-Ho Kim, Kiwon Lee and Jong-Hun Lee. (1998).3D Geographical Analysis within JAVA/VRML-based GIS: "Lantern" Operation.

Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on GeoComputation.Retrieved November 30, 2009, from

http://www.geocomputation.org/1998/index.html

enfranchising public participation in urban noise surveys and mapping

Mydlarz, C. (2009). soundaroundyou. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from http://soundaroundyou.com/#1

efforts to map sound: documenting our shared soundscapes

sound: complex and evocative

what can sound tell us about the unique characteristics of a place?

how cacophonography works:•web-based application passes sound data and

associated coordinates and metadata tags to and from smartphones and desktop/laptop computers

•audio is recorded in the field using a smartphone’s built-in microphone and then uploaded via a WiFi or cellular connection to the server, along with a GPS coordinate or cell-tower locational fix

•other types of audio, including audio from traditional field recording equipment, can be uploaded using a desktop or laptop computer connected to the internet

how cacophonography works:• When a portion the map is then viewed at a particular

zoom level, the server creates a mix of all the audio available in the map’s viewable extent, panning individual audio sources left and right based on the location of the sound-point relative to the extent, and streams this combined audio out to the user.

• The user can also choose to call up a descriptive tag cloud available in the extent and filter for specific sounds. Selecting an individual sound-point isolates that audio.

• Any changes to the map extent, by panning or zooming, has the potential to change the sound-points visible and their position relative to the extent frame, which also modifies the mix of sounds.

• Smartphone users see their current location on the map

relative to nearby sound sources; moving from one place to another has the approximate effect of panning the map and changing the extent.

• With each change, the server recalculates the mix to send to the user.

interface design: smartphone apps and OSM

freely distributed on mobile phones using applications (apps) developed with software developer kits (SDKs)

app stores currently available for Google Android-based phones and iPhones

exploding popularity of third-party generated apps (hopefully) indicates broader adoption of these apps on mobile phones regardless of OS and cellular service provider

built on OpenStreetMap data: freely available and community-generated

soundpoints appear as bright points on a dark map: the “brighter” the map, the greater the number of sources available

map style based loosely on “Midnight Commander” style developed by CloudMade (2009)

interface design: using sound variables

Krygier (1994) first formally enumerated sound variables with regards to their application in multi-media maps:

location - loudness - pitch - register - timbre - duration - rate of change - order - attack/decay

interface design: using sound variables

Krygier (1994) first formally enumerated sound variables with regards to their application in multi-media maps:

location - loudness - pitch - register - timbre - duration - rate of change - order - attack/decay

He was particularly interested in exploring how these variables could be manipulated to represent abstract, quantitative data, but three variables in particular are of interest for this project.

interface design: using sound variables

location:Soundpoints are panned left or right in a stereo mix based on their location relative to the map extent.

loudness:The volume level of individual soundpoints increases or decreases based on zoom level—the “closer to the ground” the viewpoint, the greater the volume.*

timbre: The general, prevailing qualities or characteristics of sounds convey specific meanings about the places that produce them.

He was particularly interested in exploring how these variables could be manipulated to represent abstract, quantitative data, but three variables in particular are of interest for this project.

*No audio is heard when zoomed out to regional or continental scales, in keeping with the analogy, and for practical considerations.

bringing it all together: flash demo

potential issues and means of addressing them

copyright: upon account setup, users agree to only upload content that they own the copyright for

privacy: users are advised that only recordings made in the public sphere should be uploaded

inappropriate content: audio is both generated and monitored by the community; inappropriate content is reported to webmasters for removal and possible account termination

potential issues and means of addressing them

the digital divide: Cell phones are becoming nearly ubiquitous, but smartphones are not.

Reliable access to the internet, and the acquired skills to use it, continue to pose significant challenges for disadvantaged communities (Thompson 2007).

solutions?

Future partnerships between the online community, community groups, libraries, and arts and education organizations may be able to bridge the divide by creating opportunities to both experience the map online and to contribute to the map, capturing field audio using community-shared mobile recording equipment, GPS receivers, and/or mobile computers.

What sorts of potential sonic experiences, cultural knowledges, and geographic perspectives might result from the unique mix of sounds presented by each locality?

What would it be like to “listen to” our communities beyond the confines of privately-owned mass-media channels?

potential uses and scenarios• local, independent radio stations: streaming audio at a map coordinate• spoken word, live music performances: archived and searchable• music groups create links to their sound map: all audio locations

associated with a particular tour• audio blogs: authors trace their routes and the sounds recorded along

the way• know-before-you-go: listening to a place to compliment the mapped

photography of Google Streetview and Flickr• political action and social justice: geographic & sonic representation

for a mass audience

closing remark—When the web and the emerging technologies of pervasive computing deliver on a promise to democratize information and information access, the result will be a chaotic and vibrant mirror of our world. Too often, a map presents the voice of one or a few over the voices of the many. Cacophonography provides a forum to celebrate the multiple voices and perspectives of our urban spaces, while relating those voices geographically to their neighborhoods, regions, and the world.