Does sound help us to work better with machines? A commentary on Rauterberg's paper 'About the importance of auditory alarms during the operation of a plant simulator'

A recent paper published in Interacting with Computers shows how the use of an auditory interface during a process control task can improve performance. This paper provides a critique of, and a commentary on, the general issues surrounding the use of sound in such circumstances. It considers the potential benefits and hazards of using background sound, the use of other types of feedback, and the relative merits of using concrete, real-world sounds in comparison to other more abstract sounds. It is argued that whilst such implementations would seem to be beneficial at face value, there are a number of conceptual issues concerning the matching of sound form to its function which require further elucidation before definite conclusions can be drawn. Thus we should not rush into the ubiquitous use of such interfaces. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.