Objectives

The new developments in the field of data analysis via sonification are based on the needs of individual communities, but it is important to stress that the use of the sound can be as effective for data analysis as visual inspection. In all cases the detection of evident features was as effective as with traditional software, and in some cases, data mixed with noise was better characterized using sound display.

Cognitive, neurological and machine-learning systems and the like, may be defined as being capable of learning from their interaction with data and humans; essentially continuously re-programming themselves. These digital systems do not assess the risk of taking the user out of the loop, removing the ability to perceptually inform the user of uncertainty. Multi-sensorial perception provides the option of risk assessment (regarding decision taking) and provides the data analyst with full control over the data, as well as the possibility to explore, interpret and take decisions.

The human brain is still by far the most powerful tool for the perusal of large data sets and, at the end of the chain, these data sets are ultimately analysed by humans. The space-physics community is in need of new methods to facilitate a more dynamic and detailed inspection of large data sets.

REINFORCE has as one of their objectives extend the senses used in the scientific inference, beyond this of the visual, and include in the overall effort and scientific community sense-disabled people (especially visually-disabled), senior citizens, but also profit from the different points of view of artists and artisans. All the above groups will bring external insights into the endeavour, will enrich it and will hopefully bring conceptual and innovative shifts bringing new ideas in science. Another aim is to enhance the awareness of the impact of the use of our senses on the conceptual constructions of our world. Enriched by the above contributions it will also attempt to better diffuse critical thinking in society. Schematically this work-package will concentrate on the increase of the engagement and the assessment of the impact of visually impaired citizens, artists and artisans and senior citizens, paying special attention to gender and developing in parallel methodologies of citizen’s science of diffusion of critical thinking in society. The epistemological gain of this increase of the modalities of knowledge and its respective builders cannot be overestimated.