HPI student Carla Terboven researched at the department "Digital Health - Connected Healthcare" of Prof. Bert Arnrich how air pollution can be made audible (sonified) - and how people react to it. Under the supervision of Dr. Nico Steckhan, she investigated how a portable sensor box can be used to measure air quality data, display it sonically in real time - and what influence this display has on human behavior.
The results convinced the jury at the prestigious ICAD 2023, the International Conference on Auditory Display in Norrköping, Sweden. The scientific paper entitled "Design, Implementation and Evaluation of an Air Quality Sonification System" was awarded "Best Student Paper" at the conference. The research team addressed one of the biggest environmental risks of all - air pollution. Many people's health is endangered by too many pollutants in the air, for example particulate matter.
In a test area in Potsdam, a portable sensor box was used to explore how data on fine dust pollution can be collected and made audible through sonification. Sonification describes the principle of representing data in the form of sounds. The result: in addition to visual processing, this acoustic representation makes it possible to perceive air quality in everyday life in a new and holistic way. This can help people change their behavior as well - for example, by choosing new walking routes in a healthier environment. The research project is part of DivAirCity, which is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 program.
