AI in Acoustics - A London branch event

On the 22nd May 2024 the Institute of Acoustics London Branch with the support of UKAN+ (www.acoustics.ac.uk) held an all-day meeting at the Hub of London South Bank University. The event was entitled, “AI in Acoustics “ and was attended by 103 delegates. They enjoyed ten presentations divided in to four sessions given by Architects, Software Engineers , AI programmers, Academics and Acousticians. The hosts were Professor David Waddington of the University of Salford and Professor Mark Plumbley of the University of Surrey, see Photo 1. Each of the sessions ended with a discussion panel, except for the morning session which ended in an unscheduled fire alarm. The summary was AI is useful to acousticians if used ethically. The training dataset is never big enough and the power consumption appears to be growing exponentially

Acoustics Of Classrooms

In this article we will study sound—specifically, how sound allows us to communicate in a classroom and how we can improve that communication. You will learn how sound is measured and how people called acoustics engineers help architects and designers to make sure classrooms are not too noisy—or too quiet. We even have some experiments that you can do to measure sounds at home, at school, or in a football stadium

Attack Of The Drones’ Exploration Of The Sound Power Levels Emitted And The Impact Drone’s Could Have Upon Rural Areas

This study considers the acoustic emission from a DJi Phantom 4 commercial drone using different rotor blades. Measurements were taken from a hovering drone with four commercial product blade configurations. Measurements were taken in accordance with (BS) EN ISO 3745: 2009 ‘Acoustics – Determination of sound power levels and sound energy levels of noise sources using sound pres-sure – Precision methods for anechoic rooms and hemi-anechoic rooms’. The aim of the project was to consider the sound characteristics emitted, specifically tonality and to determine the dis-tance a drone could be heard from, with the different blade configurations, in a rural setting. By considering the different blade configurations within a rural setting, the role drones have within society is considered

Remote sensing of intertidal morphological change in Morecambe Bay, U.K., between 1991 and 2007

Tidal Flats are important examples of extensive areas of natural environment that remain relatively unaffected by man. Monitoring of tidal flats is required for a variety of purposes. Remote sensing has become an established technique for the measurement of topography over tidal flats. A further requirement is to measure topographic changes in order to measure sediment budgets. To date there have been few attempts to make quantitative estimates of morphological change over tidal flat areas. This paper illustrates the use of remote sensing to measure quantitative and qualitative changes in the tidal flats of Morecambe Bay during the relatively long period 1991–2007. An understanding of the patterns of sediment transport within the Bay is of considerable interest for coastal management and defence purposes. Tidal asymmetry is considered to be the dominant cause of morphological change in the Bay, with the higher currents associated with the flood tide being the main agency moulding the channel system. Quantitative changes were measured by comparing a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the intertidal zone formed using the waterline technique applied to satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images from 1991–1994, to a second DEM constructed from airborne laser altimetry data acquired in 2005. Qualitative changes were studied using additional SAR images acquired since 2003. A significant movement of sediment from below Mean Sea Level (MSL) to above MSL was detected by comparing the two Digital Elevation Models, though the proportion of this change that could be ascribed to seasonal effects was not clear. Between 1991 and 2004 there was a migration of the Ulverston channel of the river Leven north-east by about 5 km, followed by the development of a straighter channel to the west, leaving the previous channel decoupled from the river. This is thought to be due to independent tidal and fluvial forcing mechanisms acting on the channel. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of remote sensing for measurement of long-term morphological change in tidal flat areas. An alternative use of waterlines as partial bathymetry for assimilation into a morphodynamic model of the coastal zone is also discussed

Recomendações de Secretários de Educação para um novo marco sobre responsabilização educativa ao nível federal

The members of the Large Countywide and Suburban District Consortium—a group of large, highly diverse, and successful districts across the country—have made great strides in achieving college and career readiness for all students. While they are succeeding, the consortium proposes that more could be done to accomplish their objectives through collaboration with Congress to establish federal policy and laws aligned with practices that foster college and career ready outcomes at scale. This article, introduced by Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent S. Dallas Dance, proposes the critical principles that should undergird a new federal approach to state and district accountability. Los miembros del Consorcio Large Countywide and Suburban District -un grupo de distritos escolares de gran tamaño, muy diversos, y con éxito en todo el país, han conseguido grandes avances en la preparación universitaria y profesional de todos los estudiantes. Mientras el consorcio está satisfecho con estos logros, propone que se puede hacer más para lograr sus objetivos a través de procesos de colaboración con el Congreso Nacional para establecer una política federal y sancionar leyes en consonancia con prácticas que mejoren las preparación universitaria y profesional de todos los estudiantes a escala nacional. En este artículo, preparado por el Secretario de Instrucción Pública del Condado  de Baltimore S. Dallas Dance, propone los principios fundamentales que deberían sustentar una un nuevo enfoque federal para un programa de modelos de responsabilidad educativa a nivel de los distritos y estados.Membros do Consórcio Large Countywide and Suburban District, um grupo de grandes, distritos escolares com uma população muito diversa, e com sucesso em todo o país têm feito grandes progressos na preparação dos estudantes para estudos universitários e para carreiras profissionais de todos os alunos. Embora o consórcio esteja satisfeito com essas conquistas, propõe que se pode fazer mais para alcançar seus objetivos através de processos de colaboração com o Congresso Nacional para estabelecer uma política federal e promulgar leis em conformidade com as práticas que melhoram a preparação dos estudantes para estudos universitários e para carreiras profissionais em todo o país. Neste artigo, elaborado pela Secretaria de Educação Pública do Condado de Baltimore S. Dallas Dance propõem os princípios fundamentais que devem sustentar uma nova abordagem federal para um programa de responsabilização educativa ao nível dos distritos e dos estados

Analysis of Broadband Directivity and FFT Response across One-Third Octave Bands for a Yaybahar vs a Cello

This paper presents an exploration of the Yaybahar, a unique stringed instrument invented by Gorkem Sen. The Yaybahar replaces the resonating body typically found in stringed instruments with a “Thunder Drum” assembly, a combination of a spring and membrane system that enhances the acoustic amplification of the instrument. The excitation of the strings is transmitted through the spring into the membrane, amplifying the output signal and augmenting the sound of the strings with a unique reverb. This results in an acoustics synthesizer that offers multiple avenues for playing, including the strings, spring, and frame drum. The aim of this study is to compare the acoustical properties of the Yaybahar with the long-established Cello to shed light on the instrument. The study focuses on comparative analysis of both the musical instruments through spectral, directivity, Fourier Frequency Transform (FFT) response and vibration transmission analysis. Despite its complex appearance, the Yaybahar is a highly expressive instrument. This paper focuses on Directionality and FFT analysis. Preliminary findings suggest that while the Yaybahar’s sound pressure levels across the frequency spectrum are lower than those of a Cello, it exhibits a similar but a stronger harmonic response. Further research is proposed to understand the behavior of springs in signal transmission/amplification and to investigate how structural integrity can sustain a note longer when the strings are plucked. Additionally, a deeper examination of the Yaybahar’s dimensions and configuration may enable higher sound pressure levels. Future work will also explore the relationship of string thickness and tuning against the steel gauge of the springs, its diameter, the membrane material, frame diameter and tuning. This will contribute to the existing knowledge about the instrument and may also provide insights into the harmonics of the spring and membrane

Face the Music: A before and after study of the hearing acuity of Classical music students

Since the implementation and enforcement of the European Union Physical Agents Directive (Noise) the Acoustics Group has collaborated with the Royal Academy of Music creating the noise team formed from administrators, scientists, and senior management. Our challenge was to allow these highly talented artists to practice, rehearse, and perform safely during their time at the Royal Academy of Music. This ten year project involved more than 3000 musicians measuring sound exposure of each instrument group and the hearing acuity of every student, as well as hearing surveillance of a sample of graduates. At each occurrence the students were questioned as to their aural environment. The paper will focus upon the hearing acuity of graduates after studying music for a period of four year

Facing the music: Helping classical musicians comply with the Control of Noise at Work Regulations

© 2016, German Acoustical Society (DEGA). All rights reserved. Since the implementation and enforcement of the European Union Physical Agents Directive (Noise) the Acoustics Group has collaborated with the Royal Academy of Music. Over the past nine years more than 2600 students have had their hearing tested and all instrument groups have undergone dosimetry to establish typical sound dose over a working day. The paper will focus upon the hearing acuity of the musicians and solutions to help the classical music students comply with the regulations. The challenge was to allow these highly talented artists to practice, rehearse, and perform safely. Our job as acousticians is to ensure that they are able to

The Quiet Project: A national environmental noise survey undertaken during lockdown

The COVID-19 lockdown created a new kind of environment both in the UK and globally. A time-critical working group was formed with the aim of gathering crowd-sourced baseline noise levels and other supporting information across the UK and Ireland during lockdown. The acoustics community was mobilised through existing networks, engaging private companies, public organisations, and academics to gather data. A website was designed and developed to advertise the project, provide instructions and to formalise the uploading of high-quality noise data, observations, photos, and video. More than one thousand days of data was collected at one hundred and two locations. This data has been analysed to provide Day, Evening and Night-time noise levels using four acoustic parameters for three types of environments: Urban, Rural and Suburban. The dataset has been compared to the previous England and Wales National Noise Survey. The databank will be made publicly available to assist future research