Exploring the acoustics of ancient open-air theatres

The theatres of Antiquity, Greek and Roman, constitute public buildings of the utmost importance inthe history of Western culture and in universal cultural heritage. Many of these spaces are being used fortheir original function with or without only minor adaptations. If they are well preserved and/or restored,these performance buildings attract large audiences to representations of classical and contemporary plays,thereby serving the purpose for which they were built in the Ancient Age. These theatres bear witnessto the existing relationship between architectural work, visual and acoustic experience, and dramatic art.Although the majority are located in the Mediterranean region, these structures were also built in themajor cities of the ancient world in Europe, the Middle East, northern Africa, and beyond. This paper aimsto summarise and critically review research published in the literature regarding their acoustic aspects,with particular emphasis on Roman theatres. These pieces of research emphasize the importance of thediffraction of sound in the tiers of thecaveaand the good intelligibility for speech of the Greco-Romantheatre

A Unified Multibit PUF and TRNG based on Ring Oscillators for Secure IoT Devices

Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs) and True Random Number Generators (TRNGs) are cryptographic primitives very well suited for secure IoT devices. This paper proposes a circuit, named multibit-RO-PUF-TRNG, which offers the advantages of unifying PUF and TRNG in the same design. It is based on counting the oscillations of pairs of ring oscillators (ROs), one of them acting as reference. Once the counter of the reference oscillator reaches a fixed value, the count value of the other RO is employed to provide the TRNG and the multibit PUF response. A mathematical model is presented that supports not only the circuit foundations but also a novel and simple calibration procedure that allows optimizing the selection of the design parameters. Experimental results are illustrated with large datasets from two families of FPGAs with different process nodes (90 nm and 28 nm). These results confirm that the proposed calibration provides TRNG and PUF responses with high quality. The raw TRNG bits do not need post-processing and the PUF bits (even 6 bits per RO) show very small aliasing. In the application context of obfuscating and reconstructing secrets generated by the TRNG, the multibit PUF response, together with the proposal of using error-correcting codes and RO selection adapted to each bit, provide savings of at least 79.38% of the ROs compared to using a unibit PUF without RO selection. The proposal has been implemented as an APB peripheral of a VexRiscv RV32I core to illustrate its use in a secure FPGA-based IoT device

Virtual acoustics of the roman theatre of Italica

Classic outdoor theatres have special significance in the universal, cultural and architectural her-itage. These scenic environments have undergone acoustic research in ERATO European project with basic purposes of recreation of associated intangible heritage and for their adaptation to contemporary cultural performances. In this work, the Roman theatre of the archaeological site of Italica (Seville) is studied by means of acoustic simulation, which responds to the classical scheme: cavea, orchestra, scenae, four-sided portico, and a capacity for 3,000 spectators. Throughout this paper, the creation process, adjustment, and validation of the 3D model of the theatre for simulating its sound field is analysed, which is based on the experimental measure-ment of reverberation time. The initial model, once validated, is modified to assess the acoustic impact of various proposed interventions.Los teatros clásicos al aire libre tienen muy especial significación en el patrimonio arquitectónico y cultural universal. Estos entornos escénicos han sido objeto de investigación acústica en el proyecto europeo ERATO, con fines básicos de recreación del patrimonio inmaterial asociado y para su adaptación a espectáculos culturales contemporáneos. En este trabajo se estudia me-diante simulación acústica el teatro romano del conjunto arqueológico de Itálica (Sevilla), el cual responde al esquema clásico: cavea, orchestra, scenae, pórtico de cuatro lados, y un aforo para 3.000 espectadores. A lo largo de la comunicación se analiza el proceso de creación, ajuste y validación del modelo 3D del teatro para la simulación de su campo sonoro, apoyado en los ensayos experimentales del tiempo de reverberación. Una vez validado, el modelo inicial se ha modificado con objeto de evaluar el impacto acústico de varias intervenciones propuestas

Virtual acoustic reconstruction of the Roman Theatre of Palmyra

In this paper, the creation process, adjustment, and validation of the 3D model of the Roman theatre of the monumental Syrian city of Palmyra is analysed in order to simulate its sound field. Given the impossibility of carrying out on-site measurements, the acoustic simulation is based on a 3D model made from photogrammetry, blueprints, and photographs obtained from the web and from the previous studies of the group on the Roman theatres of Italica (Seville, Spain) and Re-gina Turdulorum (Badajoz, Spain). Due to the special shape of the cross-section of the cavea of this theatre, a study has been carried out on the influence of the dispersion of reflected sound in the objective acoustic parametersEn esta comunicación se analiza el proceso de creación, ajuste y validación del modelo 3D del teatro romano de la ciudad monumental siria de Palmira para simular su campo sonoro. Dada la imposibilidad de realizar medidas in situ, la simulación acústica está basada en un modelo 3D realizado a partir de fotogrametría, planimetría y fotografías obtenidas de la web y en los trabajos anteriores del grupo sobre los teatros romanos de Itálica (Sevilla, España) y Regina Turdulorum (Badajoz, España). Debido a la especial forma de la sección de la cavea de este teatro, se ha realizado un estudio de la influencia de la dispersión del sonido reflejado en los parámetros acústicos objetivo

Acoustic reconstruction of the roman Theatre of Cadiz

The Roman Theatre of Cadiz, commissioned by Lucio Cornelio Balbo the Younger, was built in the 1st century BC. Since its discovery in 1980, excavations have enabled the recovery of a major part of the cavea (ima and media) and of the proedria, as well as the orchestra and an annular distribution gallery. Its construction date and its 120-metre diameter make it the oldest and the second-largest Roman theatre in the Iberian Peninsula, with an estimated capacity of more than 10,000 spectators. In this paper, the creation process, adjustment, and validation of the 3D model of the theatre is analysed to simulate its sound fiel

Unreported leaks location using pressure and flow sensitivity in water distribution networks

Water distribution systems are made up of many interdependent elements that enable water supply to meet a demand that is variable in time and space. One of the main concerns for utility managers is quickly locating and repairing a leak after detection, during regular network water balance. This paper presents a two-stage methodology for locating a leak that is based on the hydraulic model of the network, and, particularly, on the conservation equations that govern network behaviour. In the first stage, the sensitivity of each element (nodes and pipes) is obtained for a given demand increase in any node. In the second stage, that sensitivity is combined with additional real data provided by the (possibly) existing pressure sensors and flowmeters installed throughout the network. As a final result, the system of equations thus obtained produces the theoretical leak flow at each network node that matches the network conditions. A subsequent analysis of the leak flows obtained highlights the node or nodes in which the leak is occurring. The presented methodology is applied and assessed in a case study

Virtual acoustics of the roman theatre of Regina Turdulorum

Plinius ascribes the town of Regina (Casas de Reina, Badajoz) to the old region of Beturia under the rule of the district of Corduba. Its Roman theatre is almost perfect according to the canon rules and has been kept in an excellent state, both in its tiers and in its stage. In this work, the theatre is studied by means of acoustic simulation, which responds to the classical schema: cavea, orchestra, scenae, and a capacity of up to 1,000 spectators. Throughout this paper, an analysis is performed on the creation, adjustment, and validation process of the 3D model of the theatre for the simulation of its sound field, which is based on the experimental measurement of reverberation time. Once validated, the initial model is modified in order to assess the acoustic impact of various proposed interventions.Plinio adscribe la ciudad de Regina (Casas de Reina, Badajoz) a la antigua región de la Beturiabajo la autoridad del convento jurídico de Corduba. Su teatro es casi canónico y se conserva en excelente estado, tanto en gradas como en el frente escénico. En este trabajo el teatro se estudia mediante simulación acústica el cual responde al esquema clásico: cavea, orchestra, scenae, y un aforo de hasta 1000 espectadores. A lo largo de la comunicación se analiza el proceso de creación, ajuste y validación del modelo 3D del teatro para la simulación de su campo sonoro, apoyado en los ensayos experimentales del tiempo de reverberación. Una vez validado, el modelo inicial se ha modificado con objeto de evaluar el impacto acústico de varias intervenciones propuestas

Measurement and analysis of the acoustics of the Roman theatre of Segobriga (Spain)

Segobriga (Cuenca) was the capital of the Celtiberia region. The specular gypsum of its mines, used as glass in windows, was exported across the whole Empire through the port of Cartago Nova (Cartagena). Its Roman theatre has one of the best conserved cavea of Hispania, although there is no scaenae frons. Its construction dates back to the year 79 A.D. In this work, experimental results and analysis are presented of impulse responses and of the values of the monaural and binaural acoustic parameters recorded in situ. These results correspond to the source-receiver combinations of three positions of the source, located in the proscaenium(2), and in the orchestra (1), and of 19 reception points, distributed across the cavea, the proedria, and the proscaenium. This theatre features as part of one of the study cases of a research project that aims to evaluate and revalue the acoustics of the principal Roman theatres of Spain

Characteristic function of impulse responses in churches

The tool presented enables the sound behaviour of a room to be objectified on the basis of the representation of the characteristic function (CF) of said room.In this paper, we study characteristic functions, defined from the impulsive responses measured at different points in the room, that are obtained in churchesand cathedrals. These CFs show a variation that correlates with the distance from the point of measurement and the source. An analysis is carried out on the relationship between this variation with those acoustic parameters that depend on the distance to the source: C50, C80,and G. In addition, the differentiating features between these types of spaces are shown,therebyallowing the characteristic function to offer an overall assessment of the room, which in turnenables the classification of similar sound space

Recensiones [Revista de Historia Económica Año XIV Invierno 1996 n. 1 pp. 241-297]

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