USING NON-SPEECH SOUNDS TO CONVEY MOLECULAR PROPERTIES IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

This paper describes theoretical grounds and an ongoing research on the use of non-speech sounds (sound effects or musical tones that convey a message) intended for complementing visualization of properties and structure of biological molecules in a multimodal computer interface. This research suggests that a structured combination of everyday and abstract non-speech sounds is an effective way to associate and identify molecular properties in a virtual environment. A preliminary test was carried out to assess the memorization and usability of non-speech sounds played in a desktop virtual environment, where sounds represented molecular properties. Informal analysis of results shown high recognition rates when using a combination of sound effects and musical tones. Further tests and adaptations to the system are needed. The outcomes of this research are intended for application in molecular biology courses.