PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

This paper introduces Mode Explorer. a novel interactive auditory data exploration method to investigate features of high-dimensional data distributions: scratching-interactions on a 2D scatter plot of high-dimensional data with a pencil induces real-time dynamical processes according to a particle sonification model, excited in data space at the nearest mode in the probability density function (pdf) obtained by Kernel Density Estimation. Specifically, the signimerted pdf is used as potential energy function in which test particles perform oscillations at low friction, yielding trajectories. and via their instantaneous kinetic energy signals that are directly played back as sound. This Model-based yonification approach enables an interactive search for different modes to investigate their details, e.g., comparing cluster mass. We present results of a user study which allows us to conclude that the Mode Explorer enhances users' ability to discriminate clusters and to compare their relative a-priori probabilities.