Somunicate: Predicting Functional and Brand Meaning of UX Sounds

In Human-Machine Interaction (HMI), such as with mobile phones, electric cars, or smart home devices, short digitally produced sounds— so-called UX sounds or functional sounds—play a crucial role. These sounds inform users about the device’s current status or necessary actions and significantly influence the perception of the brand identity. However, hardware and software manufacturers often cannot predict how end users will perceive these sounds until they undergo extensive and costly user testing. The Somunicate Predictor addresses this challenge. It is a Music Information Retrieval (MIR) and AI-based solution designed to predict how real users will understand the functionality (e.g., “warning”) and brand identity (e.g., “progressive”) of a functional sound. This tool was developed during the Somunicate research project by Technische Universität Berlin and the Sound Innovation Lab.