The Sounds of Thought research project analyses sonification strategies used for EEG data from an explicitly musico-acoustic perspective. To this end, we are developing a sonification module that transforms different parameter curves into musically interesting sounds (sonification and audification). It will be possible to modify the parameterization, as well as the type of sound, in real time. This new sonification module can, e.g., be used to represent EEG and fMRI data in brain research. In addition, experiments are conducted with the spatialization of several measurement curves in order to gain new insights into the rhythms and structures of neuronal activity, taking advantage of the highly-developed ability of the human ear to discriminate several sounds - even including complex sounds (cocktail-party effect).

Project management: Florian Dombois

Project collaborators: Oliver Brodwolf, Oliver Friedli, Valerian Maly, Benoit Piccand, Daniel Weissberg, Melanie Uerlings

Clinical partner: Thomas König, Berne University Hospital and Psychiatric Polyclinic

A cooperation project with: Thomas Hermann (Bielefeld University), Thilo Hinterberger (Tübingen University), Gerold Baier (Morelos University, Mexico), Gerhard Eckel and Alberto de Campo (Institute for Electronic Music and Acoustics, Graz), Stephen Barrass (University of Canberra, Australia)

Financing: DoRe (Swiss National Science Foundation)

Contact: Florian Dombois, +41 (0)31 848 38 70

Within the project Sounds of Thought II, multi-channel EEG data gained from clinical practice will be sonified - i.e., transformed into sounds - so as to obtain a new approach to the functioning of the human brain by employing this form of representation. This project continues a research project by the same name, which was financed by DoRe and concluded in June 2006. The infrastructure developed so far, including its own software, a new audio display and a basic corpus of sonification samples taken from the history of music, will now be fine-tuned in the practical context of a research problem. The aim is to develop, for the first time, an acoustical analogue to the maps commonly used in EEG research, such as those by Niedermeyer/Lopes da Silva or Ebe/Homma, which to date visualize "typical" EEG curves only in the form of diagrams. The acoustical results will then be made accessible as a sound reference for subsequent studies of special EEGs on the research community's website, which during this early phase will have a rather simple design.

Project management: Florian Dombois

Project collaborators: Oliver Brodwolf, Oliver Friedli, Benoit Piccand, Iris Rennert, Andi Schoon, Melanie Uerlings

Clinical partner: Thomas König, Berne University Hospital and Psychiatric Polyclinic

A cooperation project with: Thomas Hermann (Bielefeld University), Thilo Hinterberger (Tübingen University), Gerold Baier (Morelos University, Mexico), Gerhard Eckel and Alberto de Campo (Institute for Electronic Music and Acoustics, Graz), Stephen Barrass (University of Canberra, Australia)

Financing: DoRe (Swiss National Science Foundation)

Contact: Florian Dombois, +41 (0)31 848 38 70

In the SEISMOPHON project, software is programmed that allows us to transpose earthquake recordings into sounds. This method is called audification and, in the context of Auditory Seismology, aims at giving earthquake research new momentum by means of this unaccustomed form of representation (cf. auditory-seismology.org). At the same time, the project implements a new audification display - the Seismic Chair - consisting of a soundfloor element and multi-channel audio equipment to facilitate multi-sensorial listening to the data.

Project management: Florian Dombois

Project collaborators: Oliver Brodwolf, Stephen Lumenta, Benoit Piccand

Partners: Stefan Wiemer (Swiss Seismological Service, ETH Zurich), Martin Stolz (Department of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering at the Berne University of Applied Sciences)

A cooperation project with: Martin Knapmeyer (German Aerospace Centre, Berlin), Frank Scherbaum (Potsdam University)

Financing: Berne University of Applied Sciences

Contact: Florian Dombois, +41 (0)31 848 38 70

Quality assurance is an important, ongoing task in food and wood technology. The project "Knocking on Potatoes" aims at audifying data acquired by non-destructive testing methods. One objective is to compile an acoustical atlas of such sound experience and to take first steps towards new applications of this measurement technology. In so doing, the BUA will combine its acoustical know-how with that of the Swiss College of Agriculture (SCA) in the technical field of timber and foodstuffs monitoring. The geotechnics branch of the Department of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering at the Berne University of Applied Sciences (BUAS-AWCE) will contribute its experience and its instruments for measuring natural vibrations.

Project management: Florian Dombois (Y Institute, BUA) and Helena Kneubühler (SCA)

BUA project collaborators: Oliver Brodwolf, Oliver Friedli, Iris Rennert, Andi Schoon

SCA project collaborators: Christian Ochsenbein, Martin Scheeder, Urs Mühlethaler

BUAS-AWCE project collaborator: Martin Stolz

Financing: Berne University of Applied Sciences (BUAS)

Contact: Florian Dombois, +41 (0)31 848 38 70

To date, data visualization and sonification is typically practised by two different scientific communities. Thus the opportunity of audiovisual representation is often thrown away. "Eye|Ear" brings the two BUA research groups "Knowledge Visualization" and "Sonification" together on selected subjects, in order to lay a foundation for a future competence centre in the field of data perceptualization.

Project management: Simon Tschachtli

Project collaborators: Oliver Brodwolf, Florian Dombois, Arne Scheuermann

Financing: Berne University of Applied Sciences (BUAS)

Contact: Florian Dombois, +41 (0)31 848 38 70