Experimental Assessment for Examination of Curves and Surfaces by Auditory Sense

The purpose of this research is to assess the ability of the auditory sense to examine curves and free-form surface models in order to verify their appearances. In this paper, the authors will first show how to display a curve and a surface model using an acoustic wave, i.e., the information about curves and surfaces that is needed, the kinds of acoustic waves that should be displayed, and how to relate the geometric information from curves or surfaces to the acoustic waves that are to be displayed. Next, the authors will discuss their newly developed experimental system. Finally, the ability of the auditory sense to examine curves and surfaces will be assessed experimentally. It will be demonstrated that the auditory sense can examine curves and surfaces.