Synesthetic approach for evaluation of the cross-sensory quality of multi-media applications

The perceived quality of multimedia applications is determined by the grade of cross-sensory alignment of transferred information. Assessment of the overall quality of multimodal transmission, however, exceeds the field of psycho-physics. Multimodal integration exists as a cumulation of various coupling strategies of the perceptual system. The various facts and perceptual strategies of cross-sensory integration give reason for development of a “synesthetic” model that serves as fundamental approach for estimation of the perceived quality within a multimodal environment. The model includes all perceptual strategies which - for a given application - can be of major importance for the overall effect and the experienced quality of sensory input. This concept has been successfully applied for design of products and interfaces as well as in the realm of audio branding.