Toronto, Canada – Mobile Stereophony for Enhanced Navigation. Stereospacer, a stereophonic research project, has been recognized with the 2nd price of the MobileHCI Design-Award 2014 for its innovative contributions at the Mobile HCI 2014 conference, held in Toronto. The prestigious ACM International Conference on Mobile Human-Computer Interaction highlights cutting-edge advancements in mobile technology.
Historical Context and Technological Evolution
Directional audio has primarily been utilized in technological contexts during the world wars, notably in air reconnaissance machinery. These early systems featured large listening devices with human operators connected via binaural tubes, marking the inception of cybernetic feedback loops between humans and machines through acoustic spatial location techniques.
Modern Applications and Future Prospects
The widespread availability of mobile smartphones, equipped with location and position sensing technologies, has significantly altered our perception of space. Some Audio-Guide applications currently employ location-specific audio sources, where proximity to the source increases volume. However, these systems lack the ability to indicate the direction of audio hotspots, thus not addressing the navigational aspect.
To create a truly cybernetic feedback system that influences user movement and behavior, Stereospacer introduces a mobile application concept utilizing binaural audio: »Directional Stereophony.« This innovative approach aims to enhance navigation and spatial awareness by providing directional audio cues.
Challenges and Considerations in Development
Traditional audio guides often require continuous listening from start to finish, with user interactivity limited to selecting tracks and basic media controls such as pausing or skipping. These guides convey relevant information about objects of interest or the user’s current location, often prompting exploration through physical presence.
The integration of imagery and visual on-screen input in audio guides presents potential challenges, as it may occupy three crucial senses—visual, aural, and haptic—conflicting with the primary goal of enhancing spatial exploration and awareness.
Stereospacer
Stereospacer is an ongoing research initiative dedicated to exploring the transformative potential of mobile stereophony in navigation and movement through space. The project continues to push the boundaries of technology, aiming to develop solutions that seamlessly blend human experience with advanced audio capabilities.
Links:
- Markert, M. (2020) Stereospacer. Available at: https://stereospacer.de (Accessed 18. Jan 2025)
- Markert, M., Heitjohann, J. and Geelhaar, J. (2014) ‘Phonorama: Mobile Spatial Navigation By Directional Stereophony’, in MobileHCI ’14: Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services. MobileHCI, Toronto: ACM Press (MobileHCI), pp. 609–611. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2628363.2645700.
- ACM (2014) MobileHCI ’14. Proceedings of the 16th international conference on Human-computer interaction with mobile devices and services. ISBN 978-1-4503-3004-6. Available at: https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.1145/2628363 (Accessed 18. Jan 2025)
- ACM International Conference on Mobile Human-Computer Interactions (2025) Mobile HCI Conference Series. Available at: https://mobilehci.acm.org/sc/index.html (Accessed 18. Jan 2025)



