The Sound for Energy Project (https://soundforenergy.net) is delighted to announce the Second Conference on Sonification of Health and Environmental Data (SoniHED 2022), which will take place online and in person for those in Stockholm at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, on 27-28 October 2022. Participation to the conference is FREE.

About SoniHED

The first SoniHED Conference was organized and chaired in 2014 by Sandra Pauletto and colleagues from the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York (https://www.york.ac.uk/c2d2/seminars/sonihed/). It brought together experts in the fields of sonification, sound design, health sciences and environmental science to evaluate and discuss novel sonic ways to engage with data from these fields. As a result, the Guest Issue on Data Sonification and Sound Design in Interactive Systems for the Journal of Human Computer Studies (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2015.08.005) was published.

Nicolas Misdariis, IRCAM, Paris

The sound of mobility

The subject of my talk will fall within the framework of the relationship between sound and mobility, by questioning the way in which sound accompanies human experiences of mobility, but also and especially, the way in which mobility objects – or artifacts – contribute to shape human sound environments. By considering the concept of mobility and observing the (old and new) forms it takes, we can make two postulates, among many others: firstly, the mobility artifact is inherently a source of sound, either intentional or consequential; secondly, mobility artifacts shape the environment and therefore have something to do with sound design and ecology. By bringing together these two assumptions, and based on different research studies – especially about electric vehicles –, we will then address, and try to support, the following issue: how can sound design improve the sound of mobility while taking into account environmental, ecological and sustainable dimensions, that are as essential as they are vital?

Elif Özcan Vieira, TU Delft

Sound ideas for critical care: How to leverage environmental intelligence for sound-driven digital solutions

Critical care is a data-driven professional environment. For the safety and survival of the patient and consequently the success of the treatment protocols not only patient vitals are observed but also the quality of the care environment. Within this context, collected ‘healthcare’ data offer ample design opportunities for sonification but also for visualization of sonic data. In this talk, I will showcase a couple of data- and sound-driven design examples that helped us, researchers at the Critical Alarms Lab of TU Delft, provide solutions for patient and clinician needs that concern sound. I will also propose a new way of monitoring the sonic environment and actively engage with the audience to help me deconstruct the issues that are inherent to sound observations such as automatic categorization of sounds, tension between speech privacy and data collection, sensing technology, and product ideas for easy adoption. Look forward to a session chockful of sound ideas!

Elina Eriksson, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm

Exploring low carbon futures in the past

Elina Eriksson will present current research from the ongoing project “Beyond the event horizon: tools to explore local energy transformations”, in which the theoretical concepts of pastcasting and recasting are put into practice. The goal of the project is to develop a scenario-workshop methodology and to use it to carry out workshops that explore and support local energy transitions by helping local actors focus on, process, democratically anchor and expand "what is perceived to be possible". The methodology has been cocreated together with the project partners from the Transition Network Sweden and been tested in both online and physical workshops. In discussion with the audience and SoniHED guests, we hope to explore what role sound could play in these novel methods for sustainability research.

Björn Palm, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm

Control of the indoor temperature in single family houses

In a single family house in Sweden the by far highest energy consumption is related to heating of the building. The indoor temperature makes a big difference for the overall consumption: Reducing the indoor temp by 1 deg C reduces the amount of energy consumed by about 5%. In Sweden it is customary to keep the temperature constant over day and night, even if no-one is home. By allowing the temperature to fluctuate, cooler at night, cooler when the house is empty, it could be possible to reduce the energy consumption. We have tested using thermostats which can be programmed beforehand, with some success. Some of the possibilities and potential problems with this way of controlling the indoor climate will be discussed in this brief presentation. At SoniHED, we hope to explore what role sound could play in this scenario.

Cristian Bogdan, KTH Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm

Linking Data to Action: Designing for Amateur Energy Management

Design of eco-feedback has primarily aimed at persuading individuals to change behaviours into more environmentally sustainable ones. However, it has been questioned how effective such feedback is in supporting long-term change. As an alternative focus for energy feedback, we present a case study of amateur energy management work in apartment buildings owned by housing cooperatives, and the design of an app that aims to stimulate and support cooperatives in taking energy actions that significantly reduce the cooperative’s collective energy use. By linking energy data to energy actions, the users can see how actions taken in their own and other cooperatives affected the energy use, learn from each other’s experiences and become motivated as energy amateurs. Based on our housing cooperative case, we reflect on design aspects to consider when designing for energy management in amateur settings. I look forward to discuss with the SoniHED researchers what role sound could have in such a scenario.

Duncan Geere, information designer, Helsingborg

Loud Numbers: Sound, Data and Stories

Everyone has a favourite song. It might be a pop song, it might be a classical piece, it might be rock’n’roll, metal or techno. But for some reason it’s our favourite - and that reason is almost always linked to the emotional connection that we have with it. In my SoniHED talk, I’ll explore the strong connection between sound, music and emotion, focusing on how sonification can be used to reach new audiences with data stories. Using examples from my own work and the work of others, I’ll discuss how this type of data storytelling with sound can be effective, the kinds of stories it’s best suited to, and why it’s important to use this powerful approach with care.