Design Description
and Storyboards
The Sonopticon Project
Part II: Initial Prototype

HUD and Noise Cancellation
Startup and Collision Avoidance | Emergency Vehicle | Construction and Blind Spot | Shutdown

56K High Bandwidth
Video Stream

28K Low Bandwidth
Video Stream


Entering I-85

Again using the semi-transparent overlay to reduce occlusion of the visual field, the Sonopticon system alerts the driver that she has just entered I-85 headed northbound. An unobtrusive noise also signals the entrance. Note that the information appears just as the driver passes the I-85 road sign. This simultaneity is not meant to distract from the road sign but rather to draw attention to the information contained therein at the moment that it would normally be attended to if the driver were looking at it. In other words, the Sonopticon tries not to offer extra information to the driver. Rather, it offers extra channels for access to the same information.
Active Noise Cancellation

The ambient cabin noise rises to a loud volume as the automobile accelerates onto the highway. At a certain threshold the active noise cancellation icon appears (with an aural cue) signalling that the cabin noise is henceforth being artifically reduced. Smart mixing of the radio tuner (which the driver is scanning through) commences.
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Comments and Evaluation



Last Modified: 11.11.97
John Tolva