Nomadic radio: a spatialized audio environment for wearable computing

This paper describes an on-going research project at the MIT Media Lab, exploring the use of auditory I/O as a primary interaction modality for wearable computing. Nomadic Radio is a framework developed for use on a wearable audio platform. It presents timely information and permits communication within a spatialized audio environment. The contextual state of the user Indicated by time of day, physical positioning, scheduled tasks, and message content, is used to model information presented in the user's listening space. We are evaluating techniques for the design of spatial audio streams, speech I/O, and auditory cues in the interface. Issues related to asynchronous communication and peripheral awareness are also being considered.