Round-robin sound sampling prevents perceptible repetition by rotating through a pool of similar samples rather than replaying one sound identically

When a sound is triggered many times (e.g., a recycling-bin feedback sound for children), using the same audio file every time makes the repetition glaringly obvious and irritating. Round-robin sampling maintains a pool of N variations of the same sound and cycles through them in order (or randomly without immediate repeats), so no two consecutive triggers play the same file. OVVO Live Art Studio used this specifically to avoid the ‘driving children insane’ problem in an interactive installation. This is a standard game-audio technique (often called ‘randomised round-robin’) but applies equally to interactive installations, live performance triggers, and any system with high event rates.

Examples

Six barcode-scanning machines each triggering audio feedback: a pool of 6 sound variations cycles so children never hear the exact same feedback twice in a row. Game engine footstep sounds: four variations rotated to avoid the ‘machine gun effect.‘

Assessment

Implement round-robin sound selection logic (in pseudocode or any language) for a pool of 8 sounds where: (1) no sound immediately repeats, and (2) after all 8 have played, the cycle can start again in randomised order.