NotiFall: Ambient Sonification System Using Water

This paper presents NotiFall, an experimental prototype of an ambient auditory notification system. NotiFall uses the sound of falling water to subtly notify users for non-urgent matters, such as weather alerts or emails in an unobtrusive manner. These sounds are controlled and altered in order to convey a wider range of auditory cues and information. Traditionally, ambient notification systems are application specific and are limited in the way they can transmit information. In comparison, NotiFall is easily programmable, suitable for a wide range of home and work environments, and makes use of both visual and audio cues in order to impart information.