Learning Movement Kinematics with a Targeted Sound

Abstract : This study introduces an experiment designed to analyze the sensorimotor adaptation to a motion-based sound synthesis system. We investigated a sound-oriented learning task, namely to reproduce a targeted sound. The motion of a small handheld object was used to control a sound synthesizer. The object angular velocity was measured by a gyroscope and transmitted in real time wirelessly to the sound system. The targeted sound was reached when the motion matched a given reference angular velocity profile with a given accuracy. An incorrect velocity profile produced either a noisier sound or a sound with a louder high harmonic , depending on the sign of the velocity error. The results showed that the participants were generally able to learn to reproduce sounds very close to the targeted sound. A corresponding motor adaptation was also found to occur, at various degrees, in most of the participants when the profile is altered.