Auditory feedback through continuous control of crumpling sound synthesis

A realtime model for the synthesis of crumpling sounds is presented. By capturing the statistics of short sonic transients which give rise to crackling noise, it allows for a consistent description of a broad spectrum of audible physical processes which emerge in several everyday interaction contexts. The model drives a nonlinear impactor that sonifies every transient, and it can be parameterized depending on the physical attributes of the crumpling material. Three different scenarios are described, respectively simulating the foot interaction with aggregate ground materials, augmenting a dining scenario, and affecting the emotional content of a footstep sequence. Taken altogether, they emphasize the potential generalizability of the model to situations in which a precise control of auditory feedback can significantly increase the enactivity and ecological validity of an interface.