Inferring Human Activity Recognition with Ambient Sound on Wireless Sensor Nodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Salomons, Etto L; Havinga, Paul J M; van Leeuwen, Henk

2016-09-27

A wireless sensor network that consists of nodes with a sound sensor can be used to obtain context awareness in home environments. However, the limited processing power of wireless nodes offers a challenge when extracting features from the signal, and subsequently, classifying the source. Although multiple papers can be found on different methods of sound classification, none of these are aimed at limited hardware or take the efficiency of the algorithms into account. In this paper, we compare and evaluate several classification methods on a real sensor platform using different feature types and classifiers, in order to find an approach that results in a good classifier that can run on limited hardware. To be as realistic as possible, we trained our classifiers using sound waves from many different sources. We conclude that despite the fact that the classifiers are often of low quality due to the highly restricted hardware resources, sufficient performance can be achieved when (1) the window length for our classifiers is increased, and (2) if we apply a two-step approach that uses a refined classification after a global classification has been performed.

Inferring Human Activity Recognition with Ambient Sound on Wireless Sensor Nodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Etto L. Salomons

2016-09-01

Full Text Available A wireless sensor network that consists of nodes with a sound sensor can be used to obtain context awareness in home environments. However, the limited processing power of wireless nodes offers a challenge when extracting features from the signal, and subsequently, classifying the source. Although multiple papers can be found on different methods of sound classification, none of these are aimed at limited hardware or take the efficiency of the algorithms into account. In this paper, we compare and evaluate several classification methods on a real sensor platform using different feature types and classifiers, in order to find an approach that results in a good classifier that can run on limited hardware. To be as realistic as possible, we trained our classifiers using sound waves from many different sources. We conclude that despite the fact that the classifiers are often of low quality due to the highly restricted hardware resources, sufficient performance can be achieved when (1 the window length for our classifiers is increased, and (2 if we apply a two-step approach that uses a refined classification after a global classification has been performed.

Digital servo control of random sound fields

Science.gov (United States)

Nakich, R. B.

1973-01-01

It is necessary to place number of sensors at different positions in sound field to determine actual sound intensities to which test object is subjected. It is possible to determine whether specification is being met adequately or exceeded. Since excitation is of random nature, signals are essentially coherent and it is impossible to obtain true average.

Coupled simulation of meteorological parameters and sound intensity in a narrow valley

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heimann, D. [Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Wessling (Germany). Inst. fuer Physik der Atmosphaere; Gross, G. [Hannover Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Meteorologie und Klimatologie

1997-07-01

A meteorological mesoscale model is used to simulate the inhomogeneous distribution of temperature and the appertaining development of thermal wind systems in a narrow two-dimensional valley during the course of a cloud-free day. A simple sound particle model takes up the simulated meteorological fields and calculates the propagation of noise which originates from a line source at one of the slopes of this valley. The coupled modeling system ensures consistency of topography, meteorological parameters and the sound field. The temporal behaviour of the sound intensity level across the valley is examined. It is only governed by the time-dependent meteorology. The results show remarkable variations of the sound intensity during the course of a day depending on the location in the valley. (orig.) 23 refs.

Reading drift in flow rate sensors caused by steady sound waves; Desvios de leitura em sensores de vazao provocados por ondas sonoras estacionarias

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maximiano, Celso; Nieble, Marcio D. [Coordenadoria para Projetos Especiais (COPESP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Migliavacca, Sylvana C.P.; Silva, Eduardo R.F. [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

1995-12-31

The use of thermal sensors very common for the measurement of small flows of gases. In this kind of sensor a little tube forming a bypass is heated symmetrically, then the temperature distribution in the tube modifies with the mass flow along it. When a stationary wave appears in the principal tube it causes an oscillation of pressure around the average value. The sensor, located between two points of the principal tube, indicates not only the principal mass flow, but also that one caused by the difference of pressure induced by the sound wave. When the gas flows at low pressures the equipment indicates a value that do not correspond to the real. Tests and essays were realized by generating a sound wave in the principal tube, without mass flow, and the sensor detected flux. In order to solve this problem a wave-damper was constructed, installed and tested in the system and it worked satisfactory eliminating with efficiency the sound wave. (author). 2 refs., 3 figs.

Lung sound intensity in patients with emphysema and in normal subjects at standardised airflows

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schreur, H. J.; Sterk, P. J.; Vanderschoot, J.; van Klink, H. C.; van Vollenhoven, E.; Dijkman, J. H.

1992-01-01

A common auscultatory finding in pulmonary emphysema is a reduction of lung sounds. This might be due to a reduction in the generation of sounds due to the accompanying airflow limitation or to poor transmission of sounds due to destruction of parenchyma. Lung sound intensity was investigated in

Intensive treatment with ultrasound visual feedback for speech sound errors in childhood apraxia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan L Preston

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Ultrasound imaging is an adjunct to traditional speech therapy that has shown to be beneficial in the remediation of speech sound errors. Ultrasound biofeedback can be utilized during therapy to provide clients additional knowledge about their tongue shapes when attempting to produce sounds that are in error. The additional feedback may assist children with childhood apraxia of speech in stabilizing motor patterns, thereby facilitating more consistent and accurate productions of sounds and syllables. However, due to its specialized nature, ultrasound visual feedback is a technology that is not widely available to clients. Short-term intensive treatment programs are one option that can be utilized to expand access to ultrasound biofeedback. Schema-based motor learning theory suggests that short-term intensive treatment programs (massed practice may assist children in acquiring more accurate motor patterns. In this case series, three participants ages 10-14 diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech attended 16 hours of speech therapy over a two-week period to address residual speech sound errors. Two participants had distortions on rhotic sounds, while the third participant demonstrated lateralization of sibilant sounds. During therapy, cues were provided to assist participants in obtaining a tongue shape that facilitated a correct production of the erred sound. Additional practice without ultrasound was also included. Results suggested that all participants showed signs of acquisition of sounds in error. Generalization and retention results were mixed. One participant showed generalization and retention of sounds that were treated; one showed generalization but limited retention; and the third showed no evidence of generalization or retention. Individual characteristics that may facilitate generalization are discussed. Short-term intensive treatment programs using ultrasound biofeedback may result in the acquisition of more accurate motor

A numerical investigation of the influence of windscreens on measurement of sound intensity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juhl, Peter Møller; Jacobsen, Finn

2006-01-01

at low frequencies in strongly reactive sound fields. The theoretical part of this study was based on the assumption of a windscreen of infinite extent. In this paper windscreens of realistic size and shape are dealt with by means of a coupled boundary element model for the windscreen and the surrounding...... air. The error of the estimated intensity caused by the windscreen is calculated under a number of sound field conditions of varying reactivity. It is shown that the resulting error can be much larger than the intensity itself in a very reactive sound field. It is also shown that the shape and size...

Sustained Magnetic Responses in Temporal Cortex Reflect Instantaneous Significance of Approaching and Receding Sounds.

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Dominik R Bach

Full Text Available Rising sound intensity often signals an approaching sound source and can serve as a powerful warning cue, eliciting phasic attention, perception biases and emotional responses. How the evaluation of approaching sounds unfolds over time remains elusive. Here, we capitalised on the temporal resolution of magnetoencephalograpy (MEG to investigate in humans a dynamic encoding of perceiving approaching and receding sounds. We compared magnetic responses to intensity envelopes of complex sounds to those of white noise sounds, in which intensity change is not perceived as approaching. Sustained magnetic fields over temporal sensors tracked intensity change in complex sounds in an approximately linear fashion, an effect not seen for intensity change in white noise sounds, or for overall intensity. Hence, these fields are likely to track approach/recession, but not the apparent (instantaneous distance of the sound source, or its intensity as such. As a likely source of this activity, the bilateral inferior temporal gyrus and right temporo-parietal junction emerged. Our results indicate that discrete temporal cortical areas parametrically encode behavioural significance in moving sound sources where the signal unfolded in a manner reminiscent of evidence accumulation. This may help an understanding of how acoustic percepts are evaluated as behaviourally relevant, where our results highlight a crucial role of cortical areas.

Effect of sound intensity on tonotopic fMRI maps in the unanesthetized monkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanji, Kazuyo; Leopold, David A; Ye, Frank Q; Zhu, Charles; Malloy, Megan; Saunders, Richard C; Mishkin, Mortimer

2010-01-01

The monkey's auditory cortex includes a core region on the supratemporal plane (STP) made up of the tonotopically organized areas A1, R, and RT, together with a surrounding belt and a lateral parabelt region. The functional studies that yielded the tonotopic maps and corroborated the anatomical division into core, belt, and parabelt typically used low-amplitude pure tones that were often restricted to threshold-level intensities. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging in awake rhesus monkeys to determine whether, and if so how, the tonotopic maps and the pattern of activation in core, belt, and parabelt are affected by systematic changes in sound intensity. Blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) responses to groups of low- and high-frequency pure tones 3-4 octaves apart were measured at multiple sound intensity levels. The results revealed tonotopic maps in the auditory core that reversed at the putative areal boundaries between A1 and R and between R and RT. Although these reversals of the tonotopic representations were present at all intensity levels, the lateral spread of activation depended on sound amplitude, with increasing recruitment of the adjacent belt areas as the intensities increased. Tonotopic organization along the STP was also evident in frequency-specific deactivation (i.e. "negative BOLD"), an effect that was intensity-specific as well. Regions of positive and negative BOLD were spatially interleaved, possibly reflecting lateral inhibition of high-frequency areas during activation of adjacent low-frequency areas, and vice versa. These results, which demonstrate the strong influence of tonal amplitude on activation levels, identify sound intensity as an important adjunct parameter for mapping the functional architecture of auditory cortex.

Sound-Intensity Feedback During Running Reduces Loading Rates and Impact Peak.

Science.gov (United States)

Tate, Jeremiah J; Milner, Clare E

2017-08-01

Study Design Controlled laboratory study, within-session design. Background Gait retraining has been proposed as an effective intervention to reduce impact loading in runners at risk of stress fractures. Interventions that can be easily implemented in the clinic are needed. Objective To assess the immediate effects of sound-intensity feedback related to impact during running on vertical impact peak, peak vertical instantaneous loading rate, and vertical average loading rate. Methods Fourteen healthy, college-aged runners who ran at least 9.7 km/wk participated (4 male, 10 female; mean ± SD age, 23.7 ± 2.0 years; height, 1.67 ± 0.08 m; mass, 60.9 ± 8.7 kg). A decibel meter provided real-time sound-intensity feedback of treadmill running via an iPad application. Participants were asked to reduce the sound intensity of running while receiving continuous feedback for 15 minutes, while running at their self-selected preferred speed. Baseline and follow-up ground reaction force data were collected during overground running at participants' self-selected preferred running speed. Results Dependent t tests indicated a statistically significant reduction in vertical impact peak (1.56 BW to 1.13 BW, P≤.001), vertical instantaneous loading rate (95.48 BW/s to 62.79 BW/s, P = .001), and vertical average loading rate (69.09 BW/s to 43.91 BW/s, P≤.001) after gait retraining, compared to baseline. Conclusion The results of the current study support the use of sound-intensity feedback during treadmill running to immediately reduce loading rate and impact force. The transfer of within-session reductions in impact peak and loading rates to overground running was demonstrated. Decreases in loading were of comparable magnitude to those observed in other gait retraining methods. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2017;47(8):565-569. Epub 6 Jul 2017. doi:10.2519/jospt.2017.7275.

The Microflown, an acoustic particle velocity sensor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Bree, H.E.

2003-01-01

The Microflown is an acoustic sensor directly measuring particle velocity instead of sound pressure, which is usually measured by conventional microphones. Since its invention in 1994 it is mostly used for measurement purposes (broadband1D and 3D-sound intensity measurement and acoustic impedance).

Acoustics flow analysis in circular duct using sound intensity and dynamic mode decomposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weyna, S

2014-01-01

Sound intensity generation in hard-walled duct with acoustic flow (no mean-flow) is treated experimentally and shown graphically. In paper, numerous methods of visualization illustrating the vortex flow (2D, 3D) can graphically explain diffraction and scattering phenomena occurring inside the duct and around open end area. Sound intensity investigation in annular duct gives a physical picture of sound waves in any duct mode. In the paper, modal energy analysis are discussed with particular reference to acoustics acoustic orthogonal decomposition (AOD). The image of sound intensity fields before and above 'cut-off' frequency region are found to compare acoustic modes which might resonate in duct. The experimental results show also the effects of axial and swirling flow. However acoustic field is extremely complicated, because pressures in non-propagating (cut-off) modes cooperate with the particle velocities in propagating modes, and vice versa. Measurement in cylindrical duct demonstrates also the cut-off phenomenon and the effect of reflection from open end. The aim of experimental study was to obtain information on low Mach number flows in ducts in order to improve physical understanding and validate theoretical CFD and CAA models that still may be improved.

A comparison of two different sound intensity measurement principles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Finn; de Bree, Hans-Elias

2005-01-01

, and compares the two measurement principles with particular regard to the sources of error in sound power determination. It is shown that the phase calibration of intensity probes that combine different transducers is very critical below 500 Hz if the measurement surface is very close to the source under test...

Left and right reaction time differences to the sound intensity in normal and AD/HD children.

Science.gov (United States)

Baghdadi, Golnaz; Towhidkhah, Farzad; Rostami, Reza

2017-06-01

Right hemisphere, which is attributed to the sound intensity discrimination, has abnormality in people with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). However, it is not studied whether the defect in the right hemisphere has influenced on the intensity sensation of AD/HD subjects or not. In this study, the sensitivity of normal and AD/HD children to the sound intensity was investigated. Nineteen normal and fourteen AD/HD children participated in the study and performed a simple auditory reaction time task. Using the regression analysis, the sensitivity of right and left ears to various sound intensity levels was examined. The statistical results showed that the sensitivity of AD/HD subjects to the intensity was lower than the normal group (p Left and right pathways of the auditory system had the same pattern of response in AD/HD subjects (p > 0.05). However, in control group the left pathway was more sensitive to the sound intensity level than the right one (p = 0.0156). It can be probable that the deficit of the right hemisphere has influenced on the auditory sensitivity of AD/HD children. The possible existent deficits of other auditory system components such as middle ear, inner ear, or involved brain stem nucleuses may also lead to the observed results. The development of new biomarkers based on the sensitivity of the brain hemispheres to the sound intensity has been suggested to estimate the risk of AD/HD. Designing new technique to correct the auditory feedback has been also proposed in behavioral treatment sessions. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

On-board sound intensity tire-pavement noise study in North Carolina.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-01

"This research investigated tire-pavement noise on various types of pavements across North Carolina by using On- : Board Sound Intensity (OBSI) method. To mitigate traffic noise, quieter pavement may provide advantages that : noise barriers cannot. T...

A single episode of high intensity sound inhibits long-term potentiation in the hippocampus of rats.

Science.gov (United States)

de Deus, J L; Cunha, A O S; Terzian, A L; Resstel, L B; Elias, L L K; Antunes-Rodrigues, J; Almeida, S S; Leão, R M

2017-10-26

Exposure to loud sounds has become increasingly common. The most common consequences of loud sound exposure are deafness and tinnitus, but emotional and cognitive problems are also associated with loud sound exposure. Loud sounds can activate the hipothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis resulting in the secretion of corticosterone, which affects hippocampal synaptic plasticity. Previously we have shown that long-term exposure to short episodes of high intensity sound inhibited hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) without affecting spatial learning and memory. Here we aimed to study the impact of short term loud sound exposure on hippocampal synaptic plasticity and function. We found that a single minute of 110 dB sound inhibits hippocampal Schaffer-CA1 LTP for 24 hours. This effect did not occur with an 80-dB sound exposure, was not correlated with corticosterone secretion and was also observed in the perforant-dentate gyrus synapse. We found that despite the deficit in the LTP these animals presented normal spatial learning and memory and fear conditioning. We conclude that a single episode of high-intensity sound impairs hippocampal LTP, without impairing memory and learning. Our results show that the hippocampus is very responsive to loud sounds which can have a potential, but not yet identified, impact on its function.

Fast detection of unexpected sound intensity decrements as revealed by human evoked potentials.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heike Althen

Full Text Available The detection of deviant sounds is a crucial function of the auditory system and is reflected by the automatically elicited mismatch negativity (MMN, an auditory evoked potential at 100 to 250 ms from stimulus onset. It has recently been shown that rarely occurring frequency and location deviants in an oddball paradigm trigger a more negative response than standard sounds at very early latencies in the middle latency response of the human auditory evoked potential. This fast and early ability of the auditory system is corroborated by the finding of neurons in the animal auditory cortex and subcortical structures, which restore their adapted responsiveness to standard sounds, when a rare change in a sound feature occurs. In this study, we investigated whether the detection of intensity deviants is also reflected at shorter latencies than those of the MMN. Auditory evoked potentials in response to click sounds were analyzed regarding the auditory brain stem response, the middle latency response (MLR and the MMN. Rare stimuli with a lower intensity level than standard stimuli elicited (in addition to an MMN a more negative potential in the MLR at the transition from the Na to the Pa component at circa 24 ms from stimulus onset. This finding, together with the studies about frequency and location changes, suggests that the early automatic detection of deviant sounds in an oddball paradigm is a general property of the auditory system.

The influence of neonatal intensive care unit design on sound level.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hsin-Li; Chen, Chao-Huei; Wu, Chih-Chao; Huang, Hsiu-Jung; Wang, Teh-Ming; Hsu, Chia-Chi

2009-12-01

Excessive noise in nurseries has been found to cause adverse effects in infants, especially preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The NICU design may influence the background sound level. We compared the sound level in two differently designed spaces in one NICU. We hypothesized that the sound level in an enclosed space would be quieter than in an open space. Sound levels were measured continuously 24 hours a day in two separate spaces at the same time, one enclosed and one open. Sound-level meters were placed near beds in each room. Sound levels were expressed as decibels, A-weighted (dBA) and presented as hourly L(eq), L(max), L(10), and L(90). The hourly L(eq) in the open space (50.8-57.2dB) was greater than that of the enclosed space (45.9-51.7dB), with a difference of 0.4-10.4dB, and a mean difference of 4.5dB (p<0.0001). The hourly L(10), L(90), and L(max) in the open space also exceeded that in the enclosed space (p<0.0001). The sound level measured in the enclosed space was quieter than in the open space. The design of bed space should be taken into consideration when building a new NICU. Besides the design of NICU architecture, continuous monitoring of sound level in the NICU is important to maintain a quiet environment.

Gas sensing properties of indium–gallium–zinc–oxide gas sensors in different light intensity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kuen-Lin Chen

2015-06-01

Full Text Available We have successfully observed the change in indium–gallium–zinc–oxide (IGZO gas sensor sensitivity by controlling the light emitting diode (LED power under the same gas concentrations. The light intensity dependence of sensor properties is discussed. Different LED intensities obviously affected the gas sensor sensitivity, which decays with increasing LED intensity. High LED intensity decreases not only gas sensor sensitivity but also the response time (T90, response time constant (τres and the absorption rate per second. Low intensity irradiated to sensor causes high sensitivity, but it needs larger response time. Similar results were also observed in other kinds of materials such as TiO2. According to the results, the sensing properties of gas sensors can be modulated by controlling the light intensity.

CMOS Active-Pixel Image Sensor With Intensity-Driven Readout

Science.gov (United States)

Langenbacher, Harry T.; Fossum, Eric R.; Kemeny, Sabrina

1996-01-01

Proposed complementary metal oxide/semiconductor (CMOS) integrated-circuit image sensor automatically provides readouts from pixels in order of decreasing illumination intensity. Sensor operated in integration mode. Particularly useful in number of image-sensing tasks, including diffractive laser range-finding, three-dimensional imaging, event-driven readout of sparse sensor arrays, and star tracking.

Monitoring Anthropogenic Ocean Sound from Shipping Using an Acoustic Sensor Network and a Compressive Sensing Approach †

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Peter; Philip, Rachel; Robinson, Stephen; Wang, Lian

2016-01-01

Monitoring ocean acoustic noise has been the subject of considerable recent study, motivated by the desire to assess the impact of anthropogenic noise on marine life. A combination of measuring ocean sound using an acoustic sensor network and modelling sources of sound and sound propagation has been proposed as an approach to estimating the acoustic noise map within a region of interest. However, strategies for developing a monitoring network are not well established. In this paper, considerations for designing a network are investigated using a simulated scenario based on the measurement of sound from ships in a shipping lane. Using models for the sources of the sound and for sound propagation, a noise map is calculated and measurements of the noise map by a sensor network within the region of interest are simulated. A compressive sensing algorithm, which exploits the sparsity of the representation of the noise map in terms of the sources, is used to estimate the locations and levels of the sources and thence the entire noise map within the region of interest. It is shown that although the spatial resolution to which the sound sources can be identified is generally limited, estimates of aggregated measures of the noise map can be obtained that are more reliable compared with those provided by other approaches. PMID:27011187

Characteristic Analysis Light Intensity Sensor Based On Plastic Optical Fiber At Various Configuration

Science.gov (United States)

Arifin, A.; Lusiana; Yunus, Muhammad; Dewang, Syamsir

2018-03-01

This research discusses the light intensity sensor based on plastic optical fiber. This light intensity sensor is made of plastic optical fiber consisting of two types, namely which is cladding and without cladding. Plastic optical fiber used multi-mode step-index type made of polymethyl metacrylate (PMMA). The infrared LED emits light into the optical fiber of the plastic and is subsequently received by the phototransistor to be converted to an electric voltage. The sensor configuration is made with three models: straight configuration, U configuration and gamma configuration with cladding and without cladding. The measured light source uses a 30 Watt high power LED with a light intensity of 0 to 10 Klux. The measured light intensity will affect the propagation of light inside the optical fiber sensor. The greater the intensity of the measured light, the greater the output voltage that is read on the computer. The results showed that the best optical fiber sensor characteristics were obtained in U configuration. Sensors with U-configuration without cladding had the best sensitivity and resolution values of 0.0307 volts/Klux and 0.0326 Klux. The advantages of this measuring light intensity based on the plastic optical fiber instrument are simple, easy-to-make operational systems, low cost, high sensitivity and resolution.

Dual-task interference effects on cross-modal numerical order and sound intensity judgments: the more the louder?

Science.gov (United States)

Alards-Tomalin, Doug; Walker, Alexander C; Nepon, Hillary; Leboe-McGowan, Launa C

2017-09-01

In the current study, cross-task interactions between number order and sound intensity judgments were assessed using a dual-task paradigm. Participants first categorized numerical sequences composed of Arabic digits as either ordered (ascending, descending) or non-ordered. Following each number sequence, participants then had to judge the intensity level of a target sound. Experiment 1 emphasized processing the two tasks independently (serial processing), while Experiments 2 and 3 emphasized processing the two tasks simultaneously (parallel processing). Cross-task interference occurred only when the task required parallel processing and was specific to ascending numerical sequences, which led to a higher proportion of louder sound intensity judgments. In Experiment 4 we examined whether this unidirectional interaction was the result of participants misattributing enhanced processing fluency experienced on ascending sequences as indicating a louder target sound. The unidirectional finding could not be entirely attributed to misattributed processing fluency, and may also be connected to experientially derived conceptual associations between ascending number sequences and greater magnitude, consistent with conceptual mapping theory.

Experimental Investigation of Integrated Optical Intensive Impulse Electric Field Sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bao, Sun; Fu-Shen, Chen

2009-01-01

We design and fabricate an integrated optical electric field sensor with segmented electrode for intensive impulse electric field measurement. The integrated optical sensor is based on a Mach–Zehnder interferometer with segmented electrodes. The output/input character of the sensing system is analysed and measured. The maximal detectable electric field range (−75 kV/m to 245 kV/m) is obtained by analysing the results. As a result, the integrated optics electric field sensing system is suitable for transient intensive electric field measurement investigation

Microflown based monopole sound sources for reciprocal measurements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bree, H.E. de; Basten, T.G.H.

2008-01-01

Monopole sound sources (i.e. omni directional sound sources with a known volume velocity) are essential for reciprocal measurements used in vehicle interior panel noise contribution analysis. Until recently, these monopole sound sources use a sound pressure transducer sensor as a reference sensor. A

Fiber-optical sensor with intensity compensation model in college teaching of physics experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Liping; Zhang, Yang; Li, Kun; Zhang, Yu

2017-08-01

Optical fiber sensor technology is one of the main contents of modern information technology, which has a very important position in modern science and technology. Fiber optic sensor experiment can improve students' enthusiasm and broaden their horizons in college physics experiment. In this paper the main structure and working principle of fiberoptical sensor with intensity compensation model are introduced. And thus fiber-optical sensor with intensity compensation model is applied to measure micro displacement of Young's modulus measurement experiment and metal linear expansion coefficient measurement experiment in the college physics experiment. Results indicate that the measurement accuracy of micro displacement is higher than that of the traditional methods using fiber-optical sensor with intensity compensation model. Meanwhile this measurement method makes the students understand on the optical fiber, sensor and nature of micro displacement measurement method and makes each experiment strengthen relationship and compatibility, which provides a new idea for the reform of experimental teaching.

Reduction of noise in the neonatal intensive care unit using sound-activated noise meters.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, D; Aubertin, C; Barrowman, N; Moreau, K; Dunn, S; Harrold, J

2014-11-01

To determine if sound-activated noise meters providing direct audit and visual feedback can reduce sound levels in a level 3 neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Sound levels (in dB) were compared between a 2-month period with noise meters present but without visual signal fluctuation and a subsequent 2 months with the noise meters providing direct audit and visual feedback. There was a significant increase in the percentage of time the sound level in the NICU was below 50 dB across all patient care areas (9.9%, 8.9% and 7.3%). This improvement was not observed in the desk area where there are no admitted patients. There was no change in the percentage of time the NICU was below 45 or 55 dB. Sound-activated noise meters seem effective in reducing sound levels in patient care areas. Conversations may have moved to non-patient care areas preventing a similar change there. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Optical Fiber High Temperature Sensor Instrumentation for Energy Intensive Industries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cooper, Kristie L.; Wang, Anbo; Pickrell, Gary R.

2006-11-14

This report summarizes technical progress during the program “Optical Fiber High Temperature Sensor Instrumentation for Energy Intensive Industries”, performed by the Center for Photonics Technology of the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. The objective of this program was to use technology recently invented at Virginia Tech to develop and demonstrate the application of self-calibrating optical fiber temperature and pressure sensors to several key energy-intensive industries where conventional, commercially available sensors exhibit greatly abbreviated lifetimes due primarily to environmental degradation. A number of significant technologies were developed under this program, including • a laser bonded silica high temperature fiber sensor with a high temperature capability up to 700°C and a frequency response up to 150 kHz, • the world’s smallest fiber Fabry-Perot high temperature pressure sensor (125 x 20 μm) with 700°C capability, • UV-induced intrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometric sensors for distributed measurement, • a single crystal sapphire fiber-based sensor with a temperature capability up to 1600°C. These technologies have been well demonstrated and laboratory tested. Our work plan included conducting major field tests of these technologies at EPRI, Corning, Pratt & Whitney, and Global Energy; field validation of the technology is critical to ensuring its usefulness to U.S. industries. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, DOE was unable to follow through with its funding commitment to support Energy Efficiency Science Initiative projects and this final phase was eliminated.

Intense transient electric field sensor based on the electro-optic effect of LiNbO{sub 3}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Qing, E-mail: yangqing@cqu.edu.cn; Sun, Shangpeng; Han, Rui; Sima, Wenxia; Liu, Tong [State Key Laboratory of Power Transmission Equipment & System Security and New Technology, Chongqing University, Shapingba District, Chongqing, 400044 (China)

2015-10-15

Intense transient electric field measurements are widely applied in various research areas. An optical intense E-field sensor for time-domain measurements, based on the electro-optic effect of lithium niobate, has been studied in detail. Principles and key issues in the design of the sensor are presented. The sensor is insulated, small in size (65 mm × 15 mm × 15 mm), and suitable for high-intensity (<801 kV/m) electric field measurements over a wide frequency band (10 Hz–10 MHz). The input/output characteristics of the sensor were obtained and the sensor calibrated. Finally, an application using this sensor in testing laboratory lightning impulses and in measuring transient electric fields during switch-on of a disconnector confirmed that the sensor is expected to find widespread use in transient intense electric field measurement applications.

Sound levels in a neonatal intensive care unit significantly exceeded recommendations, especially inside incubators.

Science.gov (United States)

Parra, Johanna; de Suremain, Aurelie; Berne Audeoud, Frederique; Ego, Anne; Debillon, Thierry

2017-12-01

This study measured sound levels in a 2008 built French neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and compared them to the 2007 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations. The ultimate aim was to identify factors that could influence noise levels. The study measured sound in 17 single or double rooms in the NICU. Two dosimeters were installed in each room, one inside and one outside the incubators, and these conducted measurements over a 24-hour period. The noise metrics measured were the equivalent continuous sound level (L eq ), the maximum noise level (L max ) and the noise level exceeded for 10% of the measurement period (L 10 ). The mean L eq , L 10 and L max were 60.4, 62.1 and 89.1 decibels (dBA), which exceeded the recommended levels of 45, 50 and 65 dBA (p care was correlated to an increased noise level, except for a postconceptional age below 32 weeks. The sound levels significantly exceeded the AAP recommendations, particularly inside incubators. A multipronged strategy is required to improve the sound environment and protect the neonates' sensory development. ©2017 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Detection of Second Sound in He-II for Thermal Quench Mapping of Superconducting Radio Frequency Accelerating Cavities

CERN Document Server

Stegmaier, Tobias; Kind, Matthias; Furci, Hernán; Koettig, Torsten; Peters, Benedikt

The development of future particle accelerators requires intensive testing of superconducting radio frequency cavities with different sizes and geometries. Non-contact thermometry quench localisation techniques proved to be beneficial for the localisation of surface defects that can originate a quench (sudden loss of superconducting state). These techniques are based on the detection of second sound in helium II. Transition Edge Sensors (TES) are highly sensitive thin film thermometers with fast time response. In the present work, their capability as a thermal quench mapping device for superconducting radio frequency cavities is proven experimentally by detecting second sound waves emitted by SMD heaters in a He-II bath at saturated vapour pressure. A characterisation of the sensors at steady bath temperatures was conducted to calculate the thermal sensitivity. An intense metallurgical study of gold-tin TES with different compositions revealed important relations between the superconducting behaviour and the ...

Simulation of novel intensity modulated cascaded coated LPFG sensor based on PMTP

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Wenbin; Gu, Zhengtian; Lin, Qiang; Sang, Jiangang

2017-12-01

This paper presents a novel intensity modulated cascaded long-period fiber grating (CLPFG) sensor which is cascaded by two same coated long-period fiber gratings (LPFGs) operating at the phase-matching turning point (PMTP). The sensor combines the high sensitivity of LPFG operating at PMTP and the narrow bandwidth of interference attenuation band of CLPFG, so a higher response to small change of the surrounding refractive index (SRI) can be obtained by intensity modulation. Based on the coupled-mode theory, the grating parameters of the PMTP of a middle odd order cladding mode of a single LPFG are calculated. Then this two same LPFGs are cascaded into a CLPFG, and the optical transmission spectrum of the CLPFG is calculated by transfer matrix method. A resonant wavelength of a special interference attenuation band whose intensity has the highest response to SRI, is selected form CLPFG’s spectrum, and setting the resonant wavelength as the operating wavelength of the sensor. Furthermore, the simulation results show that the resolution of SRI of this CLPFG is available to 1.97 × 10-9 by optimizing the film optical parameters, which is about three orders of magnitude higher than coated dual-peak LPFG and cascaded LPFG sensors. It is noteworthy that the sensor is also sensitive to the refractive index of coat, so that the sensor is expected to be applied to detections of gas, PH value, humidity and so on, in the future.

Multi-Functional Sensor System for Heart Rate, Body Position and Movement Intensity Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael MAO

2008-12-01

Full Text Available A novel multi-functional wearable sensor has been developed with multi-axis accelerometer, disposable hydro-gel electrodes, and analog filtering components. This novel sensor implementation can be used for detecting common body positions, movement intensity, and measures bio-potential signals for ECG and heart rate analysis. Based on the novel sensor principle, a prototype combines position detection, heart rate detection, and motion intensity level detection together in a handheld device that records the physiological information and wirelessly transmits the signals through Bluetooth to a mobile phone. Static body positions such as standing/sitting, lying supine, prone, and on the sides have been detected with high accuracy (97.7 % during the subject tests. Further, an algorithm that detects body movement intensity that can potentially be applied in real-time monitoring physical activity level is proposed based on average variance values. Motion intensity results show variance values increase and exercise intensity increases for almost all of the cases. A clear relation between movement intensity level shown by an increase in frequency and/or speed of exercise increases the variance values detected in all three spatial axes.

Fast negative feedback enables mammalian auditory nerve fibers to encode a wide dynamic range of sound intensities.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Ospeck

Full Text Available Mammalian auditory nerve fibers (ANF are remarkable for being able to encode a 40 dB, or hundred fold, range of sound pressure levels into their firing rate. Most of the fibers are very sensitive and raise their quiescent spike rate by a small amount for a faint sound at auditory threshold. Then as the sound intensity is increased, they slowly increase their spike rate, with some fibers going up as high as ∼300 Hz. In this way mammals are able to combine sensitivity and wide dynamic range. They are also able to discern sounds embedded within background noise. ANF receive efferent feedback, which suggests that the fibers are readjusted according to the background noise in order to maximize the information content of their auditory spike trains. Inner hair cells activate currents in the unmyelinated distal dendrites of ANF where sound intensity is rate-coded into action potentials. We model this spike generator compartment as an attenuator that employs fast negative feedback. Input current induces rapid and proportional leak currents. This way ANF are able to have a linear frequency to input current (f-I curve that has a wide dynamic range. The ANF spike generator remains very sensitive to threshold currents, but efferent feedback is able to lower its gain in response to noise.

Modeling and Validation of Performance Limitations for the Optimal Design of Interferometric and Intensity-Modulated Fiber Optic Displacement Sensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moro, Erik A. [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2012-06-07

Optical fiber sensors offer advantages over traditional electromechanical sensors, making them particularly well-suited for certain measurement applications. Generally speaking, optical fiber sensors respond to a desired measurand through modulation of an optical signal's intensity, phase, or wavelength. Practically, non-contacting fiber optic displacement sensors are limited to intensity-modulated and interferometric (or phase-modulated) methodologies. Intensity-modulated fiber optic displacement sensors relate target displacement to a power measurement. The simplest intensity-modulated sensor architectures are not robust to environmental and hardware fluctuations, since such variability may cause changes in the measured power level that falsely indicate target displacement. Differential intensity-modulated sensors have been implemented, offering robustness to such intensity fluctuations, and the speed of these sensors is limited only by the combined speed of the photodetection hardware and the data acquisition system (kHz-MHz). The primary disadvantages of intensity-modulated sensing are the relatively low accuracy (?m-mm for low-power sensors) and the lack of robustness, which consequently must be designed, often with great difficulty, into the sensor's architecture. White light interferometric displacement sensors, on the other hand, offer increased accuracy and robustness. Unlike their monochromatic-interferometer counterparts, white light interferometric sensors offer absolute, unambiguous displacement measurements over large displacement ranges (cm for low-power, 5 mW, sources), necessitating no initial calibration, and requiring no environmental or feedback control. The primary disadvantage of white light interferometric displacement sensors is that their utility in dynamic testing scenarios is limited, both by hardware bandwidth and by their inherent high-sensitivity to Doppler-effects. The decision of whether to use either an intensity

A three-dimensional integrated nanogenerator for effectively harvesting sound energy from the environment

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jinmei; Cui, Nuanyang; Gu, Long; Chen, Xiaobo; Bai, Suo; Zheng, Youbin; Hu, Caixia; Qin, Yong

2016-02-01

An integrated triboelectric nanogenerator (ITNG) with a three-dimensional structure benefiting sound propagation and adsorption is demonstrated to more effectively harvest sound energy with improved output performance. With different multifunctional integrated layers working harmonically, it could generate a short-circuit current up to 2.1 mA, an open-circuit voltage up to 232 V and the maximum charging rate can reach 453 μC s-1 for a 1 mF capacitor, which are 4.6 times, 2.6 times and 7.4 times the highest reported values, respectively. Further study shows that the ITNG works well under sound in a wide range of sound intensity levels (SILs) and frequencies, and its output is sensitive to the SIL and frequency of the sound, which reveals that the ITNG can act as a self-powered active sensor for real-time noise surveillance and health care. Moreover, this generator can be used to directly power the Fe(OH)3 sol electrophoresis and shows great potential as a wireless power supply in the electrochemical industry.An integrated triboelectric nanogenerator (ITNG) with a three-dimensional structure benefiting sound propagation and adsorption is demonstrated to more effectively harvest sound energy with improved output performance. With different multifunctional integrated layers working harmonically, it could generate a short-circuit current up to 2.1 mA, an open-circuit voltage up to 232 V and the maximum charging rate can reach 453 μC s-1 for a 1 mF capacitor, which are 4.6 times, 2.6 times and 7.4 times the highest reported values, respectively. Further study shows that the ITNG works well under sound in a wide range of sound intensity levels (SILs) and frequencies, and its output is sensitive to the SIL and frequency of the sound, which reveals that the ITNG can act as a self-powered active sensor for real-time noise surveillance and health care. Moreover, this generator can be used to directly power the Fe(OH)3 sol electrophoresis and shows great potential as a

The impact of architectural design upon the environmental sound and light exposure of neonates who require intensive care: an evaluation of the Boekelheide Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery.

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, D C; Akram Khan, M; Munson, D P; Reid, E J; Helseth, C C; Buggy, J

2007-12-01

To evaluate the differences in environmental sound, illumination and physiological parameters in the Boekelheide Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (BNICU), which was designed to comply with current recommendations and standards, as compared with a conventional neonatal intensive care unit (CNICU). Prospectively designed observational study. Median sound levels in the unoccupied BNICU (37.6 dBA) were lower than the CNICU (42.1 dBA, P<0.001). Median levels of minimum (6.4 vs 48.4 lux, P<0.05) and maximum illumination (357 vs 402 lux, P<0.05) were lower in the BNICU. A group of six neonates delivered at 32 weeks gestation showed significantly less periodic breathing (14 vs 21%) and awake time (17.6 vs 29.3%) in the BNICU as compared to the CNICU. Light and sound were both significantly reduced in the BNICU. Care in the BNICU was associated with improved physiological parameters.

Quantitative stress measurement of elastic deformation using mechanoluminescent sensor: An intensity ratio model

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Tao; Guo, Songtao; Li, Yongzeng; Peng, Di; Zhao, Xiaofeng; Liu, Yingzheng

2018-04-01

The mechanoluminescent (ML) sensor is a newly developed non-invasive technique for stress/strain measurement. However, its application has been mostly restricted to qualitative measurement due to the lack of a well-defined relationship between ML intensity and stress. To achieve accurate stress measurement, an intensity ratio model was proposed in this study to establish a quantitative relationship between the stress condition and its ML intensity in elastic deformation. To verify the proposed model, experiments were carried out on a ML measurement system using resin samples mixed with the sensor material SrAl2O4:Eu2+, Dy3+. The ML intensity ratio was found to be dependent on the applied stress and strain rate, and the relationship acquired from the experimental results agreed well with the proposed model. The current study provided a physical explanation for the relationship between ML intensity and its stress condition. The proposed model was applicable in various SrAl2O4:Eu2+, Dy3+-based ML measurement in elastic deformation, and could provide a useful reference for quantitative stress measurement using the ML sensor in general.

Intervention efficacy and intensity for children with speech sound disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Melissa M

2013-06-01

Clinicians do not have an evidence base they can use to recommend optimum intervention intensity for preschool children who present with speech sound disorder (SSD). This study examined the effect of dose frequency on phonological performance and the efficacy of the multiple oppositions approach. Fifty-four preschool children with SSD were randomly assigned to one of three intervention conditions. Two intervention conditions received the multiple oppositions approach either 3 times per week for 8 weeks (P3) or once weekly for 24 weeks (P1). A control (C) condition received a storybook intervention. Percentage of consonants correct (PCC) was evaluated at 8 weeks and after 24 sessions. PCC gain was examined after a 6-week maintenance period. The P3 condition had a significantly better phonological outcome than the P1 and C conditions at 8 weeks and than the P1 condition after 24 weeks. There were no significant differences between the P1 and C conditions. There was no significant difference between the P1 and P3 conditions in PCC gain during the maintenance period. Preschool children with SSD who received the multiple oppositions approach made significantly greater gains when they were provided with a more intensive dose frequency and when cumulative intervention intensity was held constant.

Au-Graphene Hybrid Plasmonic Nanostructure Sensor Based on Intensity Shift

Science.gov (United States)

Alharbi, Raed; Irannejad, Mehrdad; Yavuz, Mustafa

2017-01-01

Integrating plasmonic materials, like gold with a two-dimensional material (e.g., graphene) enhances the light-material interaction and, hence, plasmonic properties of the metallic nanostructure. A localized surface plasmon resonance sensor is an effective platform for biomarker detection. They offer a better bulk surface (local) sensitivity than a regular surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor; however, they suffer from a lower figure of merit compared to that one in a propagating surface plasmon resonance sensors. In this work, a decorated multilayer graphene film with an Au nanostructures was proposed as a liquid sensor. The results showed a significant improvement in the figure of merit compared with other reported localized surface plasmon resonance sensors. The maximum figure of merit and intensity sensitivity of 240 and 55 RIU−1 (refractive index unit) at refractive index change of 0.001 were achieved which indicate the capability of the proposed sensor to detect a small change in concentration of liquids in the ng/mL level which is essential in early-stage cancer disease detection. PMID:28106850

Au-Graphene Hybrid Plasmonic Nanostructure Sensor Based on Intensity Shift

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raed Alharbi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Integrating plasmonic materials, like gold with a two-dimensional material (e.g., graphene enhances the light-material interaction and, hence, plasmonic properties of the metallic nanostructure. A localized surface plasmon resonance sensor is an effective platform for biomarker detection. They offer a better bulk surface (local sensitivity than a regular surface plasmon resonance (SPR sensor; however, they suffer from a lower figure of merit compared to that one in a propagating surface plasmon resonance sensors. In this work, a decorated multilayer graphene film with an Au nanostructures was proposed as a liquid sensor. The results showed a significant improvement in the figure of merit compared with other reported localized surface plasmon resonance sensors. The maximum figure of merit and intensity sensitivity of 240 and 55 RIU−1 (refractive index unit at refractive index change of 0.001 were achieved which indicate the capability of the proposed sensor to detect a small change in concentration of liquids in the ng/mL level which is essential in early-stage cancer disease detection.

The impact of a noise reduction quality improvement project upon sound levels in the open-unit-design neonatal intensive care unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, W F

2010-07-01

To decrease measured sound levels in the neonatal intensive care unit through implementation of human factor and minor design modification strategies. Prospective time series. Two open-unit-design neonatal centers. Implementation of a coordinated program of noise reduction strategies did not result in any measurable improvement in levels of loudness or quiet. Two centers, using primarily human behavior noise reduction strategies, were unable to demonstrate measurable improvements in sound levels within the occupied open-unit-design neonatal intensive care unit.

Bio-Inspired Micromechanical Directional Acoustic Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Swan, William; Alves, Fabio; Karunasiri, Gamani

Conventional directional sound sensors employ an array of spatially separated microphones and the direction is determined using arrival times and amplitudes. In nature, insects such as the Ormia ochracea fly can determine the direction of sound using a hearing organ much smaller than the wavelength of sound it detects. The fly's eardrums are mechanically coupled, only separated by about 1 mm, and have remarkable directional sensitivity. A micromechanical sensor based on the fly's hearing system was designed and fabricated on a silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate using MEMS technology. The sensor consists of two 1 mm2 wings connected using a bridge and to the substrate using two torsional legs. The dimensions of the sensor and material stiffness determine the frequency response of the sensor. The vibration of the wings in response to incident sound at the bending resonance was measured using a laser vibrometer and found to be about 1 μm/Pa. The electronic response of the sensor to sound was measured using integrated comb finger capacitors and found to be about 25 V/Pa. The fabricated sensors showed good directional sensitivity. In this talk, the design, fabrication and characteristics of the directional sound sensor will be described. Supported by ONR and TDSI.

A "looming bias" in spatial hearing? Effects of acoustic intensity and spectrum on categorical sound source localization.

Science.gov (United States)

McCarthy, Lisa; Olsen, Kirk N

2017-01-01

Continuous increases of acoustic intensity (up-ramps) can indicate a looming (approaching) sound source in the environment, whereas continuous decreases of intensity (down-ramps) can indicate a receding sound source. From psychoacoustic experiments, an "adaptive perceptual bias" for up-ramp looming tonal stimuli has been proposed (Neuhoff, 1998). This theory postulates that (1) up-ramps are perceptually salient because of their association with looming and potentially threatening stimuli in the environment; (2) tonal stimuli are perceptually salient because of an association with single and potentially threatening biological sound sources in the environment, relative to white noise, which is more likely to arise from dispersed signals and nonthreatening/nonbiological sources (wind/ocean). In the present study, we extrapolated the "adaptive perceptual bias" theory and investigated its assumptions by measuring sound source localization in response to acoustic stimuli presented in azimuth to imply looming, stationary, and receding motion in depth. Participants (N = 26) heard three directions of intensity change (up-ramps, down-ramps, and steady state, associated with looming, receding, and stationary motion, respectively) and three levels of acoustic spectrum (a 1-kHz pure tone, the tonal vowel /ә/, and white noise) in a within-subjects design. We first hypothesized that if up-ramps are "perceptually salient" and capable of eliciting adaptive responses, then they would be localized faster and more accurately than down-ramps. This hypothesis was supported. However, the results did not support the second hypothesis. Rather, the white-noise and vowel conditions were localized faster and more accurately than the pure-tone conditions. These results are discussed in the context of auditory and visual theories of motion perception, auditory attentional capture, and the spectral causes of spatial ambiguity.

Research on fiber Bragg grating heart sound sensing and wavelength demodulation method

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Cheng; Miao, Chang-Yun; Gao, Hua; Gan, Jing-Meng; Li, Hong-Qiang

2010-11-01

Heart sound includes a lot of physiological and pathological information of heart and blood vessel. Heart sound detecting is an important method to gain the heart status, and has important significance to early diagnoses of cardiopathy. In order to improve sensitivity and reduce noise, a heart sound measurement method based on fiber Bragg grating was researched. By the vibration principle of plane round diaphragm, a heart sound sensor structure of fiber Bragg grating was designed and a heart sound sensing mathematical model was established. A formula of heart sound sensitivity was deduced and the theoretical sensitivity of the designed sensor is 957.11pm/KPa. Based on matched grating method, the experiment system was built, by which the excursion of reflected wavelength of the sensing grating was detected and the information of heart sound was obtained. Experiments show that the designed sensor can detect the heart sound and the reflected wavelength variety range is about 70pm. When the sampling frequency is 1 KHz, the extracted heart sound waveform by using the db4 wavelet has the same characteristics with a standard heart sound sensor.

Second sound scattering in superfluid helium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosgen, T.

1985-01-01

Focusing cavities are used to study the scattering of second sound in liquid helium II. The special geometries reduce wall interference effects and allow measurements in very small test volumes. In a first experiment, a double elliptical cavity is used to focus a second sound wave onto a small wire target. A thin film bolometer measures the side scattered wave component. The agreement with a theoretical estimate is reasonable, although some problems arise from the small measurement volume and associated alignment requirements. A second cavity is based on confocal parabolas, thus enabling the use of large planar sensors. A cylindrical heater produces again a focused second sound wave. Three sensors monitor the transmitted wave component as well as the side scatter in two different directions. The side looking sensors have very high sensitivities due to their large size and resistance. Specially developed cryogenic amplifers are used to match them to the signal cables. In one case, a second auxiliary heater is used to set up a strong counterflow in the focal region. The second sound wave then scatters from the induced fluid disturbances

Sound reduction management in the neonatal intensive care unit for preterm or very low birth weight infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Almadhoob, Abdulraoof; Ohlsson, Arne

2015-01-30

Infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are subjected to stress, including sound of high intensity. The sound environment in the NICU is louder than most home or office environments and contains disturbing noises of short duration and at irregular intervals. There are competing auditory signals that frequently challenge preterm infants, staff and parents. The sound levels in NICUs often exceed the maximum acceptable level of 45 decibels (dB), recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Hearing impairment is diagnosed in 2% to 10% of preterm infants versus 0.1% of the general paediatric population. Noise may cause apnoea, hypoxaemia, alternation in oxygen saturation, and increased oxygen consumption secondary to elevated heart and respiratory rates and may, therefore, decrease the amount of calories available for growth. Elevated levels of speech are needed to overcome the noisy environment in the NICU, thereby increasing the negative impacts on staff, newborns, and their families. High noise levels are associated with an increased rate of errors and accidents, leading to decreased performance among staff. The aim of interventions included in this review is to reduce sound levels to 45 dB or less. This can be achieved by lowering the sound levels in an entire unit, treating the infant in a section of a NICU, in a 'private' room, or in incubators in which the sound levels are controlled, or reducing the sound levels that reaches the individual infant by using earmuffs or earplugs. By lowering the sound levels that reach the neonate, the resulting stress on the cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, and endocrine systems can be diminished, thereby promoting growth and reducing adverse neonatal outcomes. Primary objectiveTo determine the effects of sound reduction on growth and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of neonates. Secondary objectives1. To evaluate the effects of sound reduction on short-term medical outcomes (bronchopulmonary

SoleSound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zanotto, Damiano; Turchet, Luca; Boggs, Emily Marie

2014-01-01

This paper introduces the design of SoleSound, a wearable system designed to deliver ecological, audio-tactile, underfoot feedback. The device, which primarily targets clinical applications, uses an audio-tactile footstep synthesis engine informed by the readings of pressure and inertial sensors...... embedded in the footwear to integrate enhanced feedback modalities into the authors' previously developed instrumented footwear. The synthesis models currently implemented in the SoleSound simulate different ground surface interactions. Unlike similar devices, the system presented here is fully portable...

Design of a Thermoacoustic Sensor for Low Intensity Ultrasound Measurements Based on an Artificial Neural Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Jida; Chen, Jie

2015-06-23

In therapeutic ultrasound applications, accurate ultrasound output intensities are crucial because the physiological effects of therapeutic ultrasound are very sensitive to the intensity and duration of these applications. Although radiation force balance is a benchmark technique for measuring ultrasound intensity and power, it is costly, difficult to operate, and compromised by noise vibration. To overcome these limitations, the development of a low-cost, easy to operate, and vibration-resistant alternative device is necessary for rapid ultrasound intensity measurement. Therefore, we proposed and validated a novel two-layer thermoacoustic sensor using an artificial neural network technique to accurately measure low ultrasound intensities between 30 and 120 mW/cm2. The first layer of the sensor design is a cylindrical absorber made of plexiglass, followed by a second layer composed of polyurethane rubber with a high attenuation coefficient to absorb extra ultrasound energy. The sensor determined ultrasound intensities according to a temperature elevation induced by heat converted from incident acoustic energy. Compared with our previous one-layer sensor design, the new two-layer sensor enhanced the ultrasound absorption efficiency to provide more rapid and reliable measurements. Using a three-dimensional model in the K-wave toolbox, our simulation of the ultrasound propagation process demonstrated that the two-layer design is more efficient than the single layer design. We also integrated an artificial neural network algorithm to compensate for the large measurement offset. After obtaining multiple parameters of the sensor characteristics through calibration, the artificial neural network is built to correct temperature drifts and increase the reliability of our thermoacoustic measurements through iterative training about ten seconds. The performance of the artificial neural network method was validated through a series of experiments. Compared to our previous

Intensity liquid level sensor based on multimode interference and fiber Bragg grating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira, Ricardo; Aristilde, Stenio; Osório, Jonas H; Cordeiro, Cristiano M B; Franco, Marcos A R; Bilro, Lúcia; Nogueira, Rogério N

2016-01-01

In this paper an intensity liquid level sensor based on a single-mode—no-core—single-mode (SMS) fiber structure together with a Bragg grating inscribed in the later single mode fiber is proposed. As the no-core fiber is sensitive to the external refractive index, the SMS spectral response will be shifted related to the length of no-core fiber that is immersed in a liquid. By positioning the FBG central wavelength at the spectral region of the SMS edge filter, it is possible to measure the liquid level using the reflected FBG peak power through an intensity-based approach. The sensor is also self-referenced using the peak power of another FBG that is placed before and far from the sensing part. The temperature error analysis was also studied revealing that the sensor can operate in environments where the temperature changes are minimal. The possibility to use a second setup that makes the whole device temperature insensitive is also discussed. (paper)

A New Method for Rating Hazard from Intense Sounds: Implications for Hearing Protection, Speech Intelligibility, and Situation Awareness

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Price, G. R

2005-01-01

The auditory hazard assessment algorithm for the human (AHAAH), developed by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, is theoretically based and has been demonstrated to rate hazard from intense sounds much more accurately than existing methods...

Sound specificity effects in spoken word recognition: The effect of integrality between words and sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Strori, Dorina; Zaar, Johannes; Cooke, Martin; Mattys, Sven L

2018-01-01

Recent evidence has shown that nonlinguistic sounds co-occurring with spoken words may be retained in memory and affect later retrieval of the words. This sound-specificity effect shares many characteristics with the classic voice-specificity effect. In this study, we argue that the sound-specificity effect is conditional upon the context in which the word and sound coexist. Specifically, we argue that, besides co-occurrence, integrality between words and sounds is a crucial factor in the emergence of the effect. In two recognition-memory experiments, we compared the emergence of voice and sound specificity effects. In Experiment 1 , we examined two conditions where integrality is high. Namely, the classic voice-specificity effect (Exp. 1a) was compared with a condition in which the intensity envelope of a background sound was modulated along the intensity envelope of the accompanying spoken word (Exp. 1b). Results revealed a robust voice-specificity effect and, critically, a comparable sound-specificity effect: A change in the paired sound from exposure to test led to a decrease in word-recognition performance. In the second experiment, we sought to disentangle the contribution of integrality from a mere co-occurrence context effect by removing the intensity modulation. The absence of integrality led to the disappearance of the sound-specificity effect. Taken together, the results suggest that the assimilation of background sounds into memory cannot be reduced to a simple context effect. Rather, it is conditioned by the extent to which words and sounds are perceived as integral as opposed to distinct auditory objects.

Ultra-broadband and planar sound diffuser with high uniformity of reflected intensity

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Xu-Dong; Zhu, Yi-Fan; Liang, Bin; Yang, Jing; Yang, Jun; Cheng, Jian-Chun

2017-09-01

Schroeder diffusers, as a classical design of acoustic diffusers proposed over 40 years ago, play key roles in many practical scenarios ranging from architectural acoustics to noise control to particle manipulation. Despite the great success of conventional acoustic diffusers, it is still worth pursuing ideal acoustic diffusers that are essentially expected to produce perfect sound diffuse reflection within the unlimited bandwidth. Here, we propose a different mechanism for designing acoustic diffusers to overcome the basic limits in intensity uniformity and working bandwidth in the previous designs and demonstrate a practical implementation by acoustic metamaterials with dispersionless phase-steering capability. In stark contrast to the existing production of diffuse fields relying on random scattering of sound energy by using a specific mathematical number sequence of periodically distributed unit cells, we directly mold the reflected wavefront into the desired shape by precisely manipulating the local phases of individual subwavelength metastructures. We also benchmark our design via numerical simulation with a commercially available Schroeder diffuser, and the results verify that our proposed diffuser scatters incident acoustic energy into all directions more uniformly within an ultra-broad band regardless of the incident angle. Furthermore, our design enables further improvement of the working bandwidth just by simply downscaling each individual element. With ultra-broadband functionality and high uniformity of reflected intensity, our metamaterial-based production of the diffusive field opens a route to the design and application of acoustic diffusers and may have a significant impact on various fields such as architectural acoustics and medical ultrasound imaging/treatment.

Sound Absorbers

Science.gov (United States)

Fuchs, H. V.; Möser, M.

Sound absorption indicates the transformation of sound energy into heat. It is, for instance, employed to design the acoustics in rooms. The noise emitted by machinery and plants shall be reduced before arriving at a workplace; auditoria such as lecture rooms or concert halls require a certain reverberation time. Such design goals are realised by installing absorbing components at the walls with well-defined absorption characteristics, which are adjusted for corresponding demands. Sound absorbers also play an important role in acoustic capsules, ducts and screens to avoid sound immission from noise intensive environments into the neighbourhood.

Real-Time Earthquake Intensity Estimation Using Streaming Data Analysis of Social and Physical Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Kropivnitskaya, Yelena; Tiampo, Kristy F.; Qin, Jinhui; Bauer, Michael A.

2017-06-01

Earthquake intensity is one of the key components of the decision-making process for disaster response and emergency services. Accurate and rapid intensity calculations can help to reduce total loss and the number of casualties after an earthquake. Modern intensity assessment procedures handle a variety of information sources, which can be divided into two main categories. The first type of data is that derived from physical sensors, such as seismographs and accelerometers, while the second type consists of data obtained from social sensors, such as witness observations of the consequences of the earthquake itself. Estimation approaches using additional data sources or that combine sources from both data types tend to increase intensity uncertainty due to human factors and inadequate procedures for temporal and spatial estimation, resulting in precision errors in both time and space. Here we present a processing approach for the real-time analysis of streams of data from both source types. The physical sensor data is acquired from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) seismic network in California and the social sensor data is based on Twitter user observations. First, empirical relationships between tweet rate and observed Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) are developed using data from the M6.0 South Napa, CAF earthquake that occurred on August 24, 2014. Second, the streams of both data types are analyzed together in simulated real-time to produce one intensity map. The second implementation is based on IBM InfoSphere Streams, a cloud platform for real-time analytics of big data. To handle large processing workloads for data from various sources, it is deployed and run on a cloud-based cluster of virtual machines. We compare the quality and evolution of intensity maps from different data sources over 10-min time intervals immediately following the earthquake. Results from the joint analysis shows that it provides more complete coverage, with better accuracy and higher

Design of a Thermoacoustic Sensor for Low Intensity Ultrasound Measurements Based on an Artificial Neural Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jida Xing

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In therapeutic ultrasound applications, accurate ultrasound output intensities are crucial because the physiological effects of therapeutic ultrasound are very sensitive to the intensity and duration of these applications. Although radiation force balance is a benchmark technique for measuring ultrasound intensity and power, it is costly, difficult to operate, and compromised by noise vibration. To overcome these limitations, the development of a low-cost, easy to operate, and vibration-resistant alternative device is necessary for rapid ultrasound intensity measurement. Therefore, we proposed and validated a novel two-layer thermoacoustic sensor using an artificial neural network technique to accurately measure low ultrasound intensities between 30 and 120 mW/cm2. The first layer of the sensor design is a cylindrical absorber made of plexiglass, followed by a second layer composed of polyurethane rubber with a high attenuation coefficient to absorb extra ultrasound energy. The sensor determined ultrasound intensities according to a temperature elevation induced by heat converted from incident acoustic energy. Compared with our previous one-layer sensor design, the new two-layer sensor enhanced the ultrasound absorption efficiency to provide more rapid and reliable measurements. Using a three-dimensional model in the K-wave toolbox, our simulation of the ultrasound propagation process demonstrated that the two-layer design is more efficient than the single layer design. We also integrated an artificial neural network algorithm to compensate for the large measurement offset. After obtaining multiple parameters of the sensor characteristics through calibration, the artificial neural network is built to correct temperature drifts and increase the reliability of our thermoacoustic measurements through iterative training about ten seconds. The performance of the artificial neural network method was validated through a series of experiments. Compared

Short period sound speed oscillation measured by intensive XBT survey and its role on GNSS/acoustic positioning

Science.gov (United States)

Kido, M.; Matsui, R.; Imano, M.; Honsho, C.

2017-12-01

In the GNSS/acoustic measurement, sound speed in ocean plays a key role of accuracy of final positioning. We have shown than longer period sound speed undulation can be properly estimated from GNSS-A analysis itself in our previous work. In this work, we have carried out intensive XBT measurement to get temporal variation of sound speed in short period to be compared with GNSS-A derived one. In the individual temperature profile obtained by intensive XBT measurements (10 minutes interval up to 12 times of cast), clear vertical oscillation up to 20 m of amplitude in the shallow part were observed. These can be interpreted as gravitational internal wave with short-period and hence short wavelength anomaly. Kido et al. (2007) proposed that horizontal variation of the ocean structure can be considered employing five or more transponders at once if the structure is expressed by two quantities, i.e., horizontal gradient in x/y directions. However, this hypothesis requires that the variation must has a large spatial scale (> 2-5km) so that the horizontal variation can be regarded as linear within the extent of acoustic path to seafloor transponders. Therefore the wavelength of the above observed internal wave is getting important. The observed period of internal wave was 30-60 minute. However its wavelength cannot be directly measured. It must be estimate based on density profile of water column. In the comparison between sound speed change and positioning, the delay of their phases were 90 degree, which indicates that most steep horizontal slope of internal wave correspond to largest apparent positioning shift.

Comparison of high‐intensity sound and mechanical vibration for cleaning porous titanium cylinders fabricated using selective laser melting

Science.gov (United States)

Seiffert, Gary; Sutcliffe, Chris

2015-01-01

Abstract Orthopedic components, such as the acetabular cup in total hip joint replacement, can be fabricated using porous metals, such as titanium, and a number of processes, such as selective laser melting. The issue of how to effectively remove loose powder from the pores (residual powder) of such components has not been addressed in the literature. In this work, we investigated the feasibility of two processes, acoustic cleaning using high‐intensity sound inside acoustic horns and mechanical vibration, to remove residual titanium powder from selective laser melting‐fabricated cylinders. With acoustic cleaning, the amount of residual powder removed was not influenced by either the fundamental frequency of the horn used (75 vs. 230 Hz) or, for a given horn, the number of soundings (between 1 and 20). With mechanical vibration, the amount of residual powder removed was not influenced by the application time (10 vs. 20 s). Acoustic cleaning was found to be more reliable and effective in removal of residual powder than cleaning with mechanical vibration. It is concluded that acoustic cleaning using high‐intensity sound has significant potential for use in the final preparation stages of porous metal orthopedic components. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 117–123, 2017. PMID:26426906

Decay of reverberant sound in a spherical enclosure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carroll, M.M.; Chien, C.F.

1977-01-01

The assumption of diffuse reflection (Lambert's Law) leads to integral equations for the wall intensity in a reverberant sound field in the steady state and during decay. The latter equation, in the special case of a spherical enclosure with uniformly absorbent walls and uniform wall intensity, allows exponential decay with a decay time which agrees closely with the Norris--Eyring prediction. The sound-intensity and sound-energy density in the medium, during decay, are also calculated

A CMOS Luminescence Intensity and Lifetime Dual Sensor Based on Multicycle Charge Modulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Guoqing; Sonkusale, Sameer R

2018-06-01

Luminescence plays an important role in many scientific and industrial applications. This paper proposes a novel complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor chip that can realize both luminescence intensity and lifetime sensing. To enable high sensitivity, we propose parasitic insensitive multicycle charge modulation scheme for low-light lifetime extraction benefiting from simplicity, accuracy, and compatibility with deeply scaled CMOS process. The designed in-pixel capacitive transimpedance amplifier (CTIA) based structure is able to capture the weak luminescence-induced voltage signal by accumulating photon-generated charges in 25 discrete gated 10-ms time windows and 10-μs pulsewidth. A pinned photodiode on chip with 1.04 pA dark current is utilized for luminescence detection. The proposed CTIA-based circuitry can achieve 2.1-mV/(nW/cm 2 ) responsivity and 4.38-nW/cm 2 resolution at 630 nm wavelength for intensity measurement and 45-ns resolution for lifetime measurement. The sensor chip is employed for measuring time constants and luminescence lifetimes of an InGaN-based white light-emitting diode at different wavelengths. In addition, we demonstrate accurate measurement of the lifetime of an oxygen sensitive chromophore with sensitivity to oxygen concentration of 7.5%/ppm and 6%/ppm in both intensity and lifetime domain. This CMOS-enabled oxygen sensor was then employed to test water quality from different sources (tap water, lakes, and rivers).

Comparison of high-intensity sound and mechanical vibration for cleaning porous titanium cylinders fabricated using selective laser melting.

Science.gov (United States)

Seiffert, Gary; Hopkins, Carl; Sutcliffe, Chris

2017-01-01

Orthopedic components, such as the acetabular cup in total hip joint replacement, can be fabricated using porous metals, such as titanium, and a number of processes, such as selective laser melting. The issue of how to effectively remove loose powder from the pores (residual powder) of such components has not been addressed in the literature. In this work, we investigated the feasibility of two processes, acoustic cleaning using high-intensity sound inside acoustic horns and mechanical vibration, to remove residual titanium powder from selective laser melting-fabricated cylinders. With acoustic cleaning, the amount of residual powder removed was not influenced by either the fundamental frequency of the horn used (75 vs. 230 Hz) or, for a given horn, the number of soundings (between 1 and 20). With mechanical vibration, the amount of residual powder removed was not influenced by the application time (10 vs. 20 s). Acoustic cleaning was found to be more reliable and effective in removal of residual powder than cleaning with mechanical vibration. It is concluded that acoustic cleaning using high-intensity sound has significant potential for use in the final preparation stages of porous metal orthopedic components. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 117-123, 2017. © 2015 The Authors Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Detection of Second Sound in He-II for Thermal Quench Mapping of Superconducting Radio Frequency Accelerating Cavities

OpenAIRE

Stegmaier, Tobias; Grohmann, Steffen; Kind, Matthias; Furci, Hernán; Koettig, Torsten; Peters, Benedikt

2018-01-01

The development of future particle accelerators requires intensive testing of superconducting radio frequency cavities with different sizes and geometries. Non-contact thermometry quench localisation techniques proved to be beneficial for the localisation of surface defects that can originate a quench (sudden loss of superconducting state). These techniques are based on the detection of second sound in helium II. Transition Edge Sensors (TES) are highly sensitive thin film thermometers with f...

Sound radiation contrast in MR phase images. Method for the representation of elasticity, sound damping, and sound impedance changes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radicke, Marcus

2009-01-01

The method presented in this thesis combines ultrasound techniques with the magnetic-resonance tomography (MRT). An ultrasonic wave generates in absorbing media a static force in sound-propagation direction. The force leads at sound intensities of some W/cm 2 and a sound frequency in the lower MHz range to a tissue shift in the micrometer range. This tissue shift depends on the sound power, the sound frequency, the sound absorption, and the elastic properties of the tissue. A MRT sequence of the Siemens Healthcare AG was modified so that it measures (indirectly) the tissue shift, codes as grey values, and presents as 2D picture. By means of the grey values the sound-beam slope in the tissue can be visualized, and so additionally sound obstacles (changes of the sound impedance) can be detected. By the MRT images token up spatial changes of the tissue parameters sound absorption and elasticity can be detected. In this thesis measurements are presented, which show the feasibility and future chances of this method especially for the mammary-cancer diagnostics. [de

Audio-Visual Fusion for Sound Source Localization and Improved Attention

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Byoung Gi; Choi, Jong Suk; Yoon, Sang Suk; Choi, Mun Taek; Kim, Mun Sang [Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Dai Jin [Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang (Korea, Republic of)

2011-07-15

Service robots are equipped with various sensors such as vision camera, sonar sensor, laser scanner, and microphones. Although these sensors have their own functions, some of them can be made to work together and perform more complicated functions. AudioFvisual fusion is a typical and powerful combination of audio and video sensors, because audio information is complementary to visual information and vice versa. Human beings also mainly depend on visual and auditory information in their daily life. In this paper, we conduct two studies using audioFvision fusion: one is on enhancing the performance of sound localization, and the other is on improving robot attention through sound localization and face detection.

Audio-Visual Fusion for Sound Source Localization and Improved Attention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Byoung Gi; Choi, Jong Suk; Yoon, Sang Suk; Choi, Mun Taek; Kim, Mun Sang; Kim, Dai Jin

2011-01-01

Service robots are equipped with various sensors such as vision camera, sonar sensor, laser scanner, and microphones. Although these sensors have their own functions, some of them can be made to work together and perform more complicated functions. AudioFvisual fusion is a typical and powerful combination of audio and video sensors, because audio information is complementary to visual information and vice versa. Human beings also mainly depend on visual and auditory information in their daily life. In this paper, we conduct two studies using audioFvision fusion: one is on enhancing the performance of sound localization, and the other is on improving robot attention through sound localization and face detection

Prototype fiber Bragg Grattings (FBG) sensor based on intensity modulation of the laser diode low frequency vibrations measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Setiono, Andi; Ula, Rini Khamimatul; Hanto, Dwi; Widiyatmoko, Bambang; Purnamaningsih, Retno Wigajatri

2016-02-01

In general, Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensor works based on observation of spectral response characteristic to detect the desired parameter. In this research, we studied intensity response characteristic of FBG to detect the dynamic strain. Experiment result show that the reflected intensity had linier relationships with dynamic strain. Based on these characteristics, we developed the FBG sensor to detect low frequency vibration. This sensor is designed by attaching the FBG on the bronze cantilever with dimensions of 85×3×0.5 mm. Measurement results showed that the sensor was able to detect vibrations in the frequency range of 7-10 Hz at temperature range of 25-45 ˚C. The measured frequency range is still within the frequency range of digging activity, therefore this vibration sensor can be applied for oil pipelines vandalisation detection system.

Inhibition of long-term potentiation in the schaffer-CA1 pathway by repetitive high-intensity sound stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunha, A O S; de Oliveira, J A C; Almeida, S S; Garcia-Cairasco, N; Leão, R M

2015-12-03

High-intensity sound can induce seizures in susceptible animals. After repeated acoustic stimuli changes in behavioural seizure repertoire and epileptic EEG activity might be seen in recruited limbic and forebrain structures, a phenomenon known as audiogenic kindling. It is postulated that audiogenic kindling can produce synaptic plasticity events leading to the spread of epileptogenic activity to the limbic system. In order to test this hypothesis, we investigated if long-term potentiation (LTP) of hippocampal Schaffer-CA1 synapses and spatial navigation memory are altered by a repeated high-intensity sound stimulation (HISS) protocol, consisting of one-minute 120 dB broadband noise applied twice a day for 10 days, in normal Wistar rats and in audiogenic seizure-prone rats (Wistar Audiogenic Rats - WARs). After HISS all WARs exhibited midbrain seizures and 50% of these animals developed limbic recruitment, while only 26% of Wistar rats presented midbrain seizures and none of them had limbic recruitment. In naïve animals, LTP in hippocampal CA1 neurons was induced by 50- or 100-Hz high-frequency stimulation of Schaffer fibres in slices from both Wistar and WAR animals similarly. Surprisingly, HISS suppressed LTP in CA1 neurons in slices from Wistar rats that did not present any seizure, and inhibited LTP in slices from Wistar rats with only midbrain seizures. However HISS had no effect on LTP in CA1 neurons from slices of WARs. Interestingly HISS did not alter spatial navigation and memory in both strains. These findings show that repeated high-intensity sound stimulation prevent LTP of Schaffer-CA1 synapses from Wistar rats, without affecting spatial memory. This effect was not seen in hippocampi from audiogenic seizure-prone WARs. In WARs the link between auditory stimulation and hippocampal LTP seems to be disrupted which could be relevant for the susceptibility to seizures in this strain. Copyright © 2015 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visualizing Sound Directivity via Smartphone Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Hawley, Scott H.; McClain, Robert E., Jr.

2018-01-01

When Yang-Hann Kim received the Rossing Prize in Acoustics Education at the 2015 meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, he stressed the importance of offering visual depictions of sound fields when teaching acoustics. Often visualization methods require specialized equipment such as microphone arrays or scanning apparatus. We present a…

All-fiber intensity bend sensor based on photonic crystal fiber with asymmetric air-hole structure

Science.gov (United States)

Budnicki, Dawid; Szostkiewicz, Lukasz; Szymanski, Michal O.; Ostrowski, Lukasz; Holdynski, Zbigniew; Lipinski, Stanislaw; Murawski, Michal; Wojcik, Grzegorz; Makara, Mariusz; Poturaj, Krzysztof; Mergo, Pawel; Napierala, Marek; Nasilowski, Tomasz

2017-10-01

Monitoring the geometry of an moving element is a crucial task for example in robotics. The robots equipped with fiber bend sensor integrated in their arms can be a promising solution for medicine, physiotherapy and also for application in computer games. We report an all-fiber intensity bend sensor, which is based on microstructured multicore optical fiber. It allows to perform a measurement of the bending radius as well as the bending orientation. The reported solution has a special airhole structure which makes the sensor only bend-sensitive. Our solution is an intensity based sensor, which measures power transmitted along the fiber, influenced by bend. The sensor is based on a multicore fiber with the special air-hole structure that allows detection of bending orientation in range of 360°. Each core in the multicore fiber is sensitive to bend in specified direction. The principle behind sensor operation is to differentiate the confinement loss of fundamental mode propagating in each core. Thanks to received power differences one can distinguish not only bend direction but also its amplitude. Multicore fiber is designed to utilize most common light sources that operate at 1.55 μm thus ensuring high stability of operation. The sensitivity of the proposed solution is equal 29,4 dB/cm and the accuracy of bend direction for the fiber end point is up to 5 degrees for 15 cm fiber length. Such sensitivity allows to perform end point detection with millimeter precision.

Active control of sound transmission through a rectangular panel using point-force actuators and piezoelectric film sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanada, Akira; Higashiyama, Kouji; Tanaka, Nobuo

2015-01-01

This study deals with the active control of sound transmission through a rectangular panel, based on single input, single output feedforward vibration control using point-force actuators and piezoelectric film sensors. It focuses on the phenomenon in which the sound power transmitted through a finite-sized panel drops significantly at some frequencies just below the resonance frequencies of the panel in the low-frequency range as a result of modal coupling cancellation. In a previous study, it was shown that when point-force actuators are located on nodal lines for the frequency at which this phenomenon occurs, a force equivalent to the incident sound wave can act on the panel. In this study, a practical method for sensing volume velocity using a small number of piezoelectric film strips is investigated. It is found that two quadratically shaped piezoelectric film strips, attached at the same nodal lines as those where the actuators were placed, can sense the volume velocity approximately in the low-frequency range. Results of simulations show that combining the proposed actuation method and the sensing method can achieve a practical control effect at low frequencies over a wide frequency range. Finally, experiments are carried out to demonstrate the validity and feasibility of the proposed method.

Sound transmission reduction with intelligent panel systems

Science.gov (United States)

Fuller, Chris R.; Clark, Robert L.

1992-01-01

Experimental and theoretical investigations are performed of the use of intelligent panel systems to control the sound transmission and radiation. An intelligent structure is defined as a structural system with integrated actuators and sensors under the guidance of an adaptive, learning type controller. The system configuration is based on the Active Structural Acoustic Control (ASAC) concept where control inputs are applied directly to the structure to minimize an error quantity related to the radiated sound field. In this case multiple piezoelectric elements are employed as sensors. The importance of optimal shape and location is demonstrated to be of the same order of influence as increasing the number of channels of control.

Glottal volume velocity waveform characteristics in subjects with and without vocal training, related to gender, sound intensity, fundamental frequency, and age

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sulter, AM; Wit, HP

Glottal volume velocity waveform characteristics of 224 subjects, categorized in four groups according to gender and vocal training, were determined, and their relations to sound-pressure level, fundamental frequency, intra-oral pressure, and age were analyzed. Subjects phonated at three intensity

Glottal volume velocity waveform characteristics in subjects with and without vocal training, related to gender, sound intensity, fundamental frequency, and age

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sulter, AM; Wit, HP

1996-01-01

Glottal volume velocity waveform characteristics of 224 subjects, categorized in four groups according to gender and vocal training, were determined, and their relations to sound-pressure level, fundamental frequency, intra-oral pressure, and age were analyzed. Subjects phonated at three intensity

The perceptual basis of spatial sound perception

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kohlrausch, A.G.

2003-01-01

Our ability to derive spatial impressions from a sound field is based on the facts that we have two sensors which are spatially separated by typically 18 cm and that the space in between these sensors is filled by acoustically nontransparant material. The first fact leads to a time difference at the

Noise levels in neonatal intensive care unit and use of sound absorbing panel in the isolette.

Science.gov (United States)

Altuncu, E; Akman, I; Kulekci, S; Akdas, F; Bilgen, H; Ozek, E

2009-07-01

The purposes of this study were to measure the noise level of a busy neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and to determine the effect of sound absorbing panel (SAP) on the level of noise inside the isolette. The sound pressure levels (SPL) of background noise, baby crying, alarms and closing of isolette's door/portholes were measured by a 2235-Brüel&Kjaer Sound Level Meter. Readings were repeated after applying SAP (3D pyramidal shaped open cell polyurethane foam) to the three lateral walls and ceiling of the isolette. The median SPL of background noise inside the NICU was 56dBA and it decreased to 47dBA inside the isolette. The median SPL of monitor alarms and baby crying inside the isolette were not different than SPL measured under radiant warmer (p>0.05). With SAP, the median SPL of temperature alarm inside the isolette decreased significantly from 82 to 72dBA, monitor alarm from 64 to 56dBA, porthole closing from 81 to 74dBA, and isolette door closing from 80 to 68dBA (pnoise produced by baby crying when SAP was used in the isolette (79dBA vs 69dBA, respectively) (pnoise. The noise level in our NICU is significantly above the universally recommended levels. Being inside the isolette protects infants from noise sources produced outside the isolette. However, very high noises are produced inside the isolette as well. Sound absorbing panel can be a simple solution and it attenuated the noise levels inside the isolette.

Sound specificity effects in spoken word recognition: The effect of integrality between words and sounds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strori, Dorina; Zaar, Johannes; Cooke, Martin

2017-01-01

Recent evidence has shown that nonlinguistic sounds co-occurring with spoken words may be retained in memory and affect later retrieval of the words. This sound-specificity effect shares many characteristics with the classic voice-specificity effect. In this study, we argue that the sound......-specificity effect is conditional upon the context in which the word and sound coexist. Specifically, we argue that, besides co-occurrence, integrality between words and sounds is a crucial factor in the emergence of the effect. In two recognition-memory experiments, we compared the emergence of voice and sound...... from a mere co-occurrence context effect by removing the intensity modulation. The absence of integrality led to the disappearance of the sound-specificity effect. Taken together, the results suggest that the assimilation of background sounds into memory cannot be reduced to a simple context effect...

Sound source measurement by using a passive sound insulation and a statistical approach

Science.gov (United States)

Dragonetti, Raffaele; Di Filippo, Sabato; Mercogliano, Francesco; Romano, Rosario A.

2015-10-01

This paper describes a measurement technique developed by the authors that allows carrying out acoustic measurements inside noisy environments reducing background noise effects. The proposed method is based on the integration of a traditional passive noise insulation system with a statistical approach. The latter is applied to signals picked up by usual sensors (microphones and accelerometers) equipping the passive sound insulation system. The statistical approach allows improving of the sound insulation given only by the passive sound insulation system at low frequency. The developed measurement technique has been validated by means of numerical simulations and measurements carried out inside a real noisy environment. For the case-studies here reported, an average improvement of about 10 dB has been obtained in a frequency range up to about 250 Hz. Considerations on the lower sound pressure level that can be measured by applying the proposed method and the measurement error related to its application are reported as well.

A level switch with a sound tube

OpenAIRE

赤池, 誠規

2017-01-01

Level switches are sensor with an electrical contact output at a specific liquid, powder or bulk level. Most of traditional level switches are not suitable for harsh environments. The level switch in this study connects a loudspeaker on top end of the sound tube. When liquid, powder or bulk closes bottom end of the sound tube, the level switch turns on. The level switch is suitable for harsh environments and easy to install. The aim of this study is to propose a level switch with a sound tube...

Intensity-demodulated torsion sensor based on thin-core polarization-maintaining fiber.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Xuexue; Zhang, Weigang; Zhang, Yanxin; Yang, Jiang; Chen, Lei; Kong, Lingxin; Zhang, Yunshan; Yu, Lin; Yan, Tieyi; Geng, Pengcheng

2018-05-01

An intensity-demodulated torsion sensor is designed and realized, which consists of a polarization ring as the sensing part and a section of thin-core polarization-maintaining fiber as the demodulation part. An intensity map of a sinusoidal change can be obtained at some specific wavelengths, and the experimental results correspond to the theoretical analysis well. The maximum sensitivity is about 0.29 dB/deg at the wavelength of 1584.6 nm, and the minimum sensitivity is about 0.10 dB/deg at the wavelength of 1510.2 nm. Meanwhile, the temperature characteristic is measured in the experiment. More broadly, the proposed structure can be used in an integrated smart device for loose-screw detection in devices in aeronautics and astronautics.

Spatial resolution limits for the localization of noise sources using direct sound mapping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Comesana, D. Fernandez; Holland, K. R.; Fernandez Grande, Efren

2016-01-01

the relationship between spatial resolution, noise level and geometry. The proposed expressions are validated via simulations and experiments. It is shown that particle velocity mapping yields better results for identifying closely spaced sound sources than sound pressure or sound intensity, especially...... extensively been used for many years to locate sound sources. However, it is not yet well defined when two sources should be regarded as resolved by means of direct sound mapping. This paper derives the limits of the direct representation of sound pressure, particle velocity and sound intensity by exploring......One of the main challenges arising from noise and vibration problems is how to identify the areas of a device, machine or structure that produce significant acoustic excitation, i.e. the localization of main noise sources. The direct visualization of sound, in particular sound intensity, has...

Mapping sound intensities by seating position in a university concert band: A risk of hearing loss, temporary threshold shifts, and comparisons with standards of OSHA and NIOSH

Science.gov (United States)

Holland, Nicholas Vedder, III

Exposure to loud sounds is one of the leading causes of hearing loss in the United States. The purpose of the current research was to measure the sound pressure levels generated within a university concert band and determine if those levels exceeded permissible sound limits for exposure according to criteria set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Time-weighted averages (TWA) were obtained via a dosimeter during six rehearsals for nine members of the ensemble (plus the conductor), who were seated in frontal proximity to "instruments of power" (trumpets, trombones, and percussion; (Backus, 1977). Subjects received audiometer tests prior to and after each rehearsal to determine any temporary threshold shifts (TTS). Single sample t tests were calculated to compare TWA means and the maximum sound intensity exposures set by OSHA and NIOSH. Correlations were calculated between TWAs and TTSs, as well as TTSs and the number of semesters subjects reported being seated in proximity to instruments of power. The TWA-OSHA mean of 90.2 dBA was not significantly greater than the specified OSHA maximum standard of 90.0 dBA (p > .05). The TWA-NIOSH mean of 93.1 dBA was, however, significantly greater than the NIOSH specified maximum standard of 85.0 dBA (p OSHA, r = .20 for NIOSH); the correlation between TTSs and semesters of proximity to instruments of power was also considered weak (r = .13). TWAs cumulatively exceeded both association's sound exposure limits at 11 specified locations (nine subjects and both ears of the conductor) throughout the concert band's rehearsals. In addition, hearing acuity, as determined by TTSs, was substantially affected negatively by the intensities produced in the concert band. The researcher concluded that conductors, as well as their performers, must be aware of possible damaging sound intensities in rehearsals or performances.

Nonlinear effects in the propagation of shortwave transverse sound in pure superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gal'perin, Y.

1982-01-01

Various mechanisms are analyzed which lead to nonlinear phenomena (e.g., the dependence of the absorption coefficient and of the velocity of sound on its intensity) in the propagation of transverse shortwave sound in pure superconductors (the wavelength of the sound being much less than the mean free path of the quasiparticles). It is shown that the basic mechanism, over a wide range of superconductor parameters and of the sound intensity, is the so-called momentum nonlinearity. The latter is due to the distortion (induced by the sound wave) of the quasimomentum distribution of resonant electrons interacting with the wave. The dependences of the absorption coefficient and of the sound velocity on its intensity and on the temperature are analyzed in the vicinity of the superconducting transition point. The feasibility of an experimental study of nonlinear acoustic phenomena in the case of transverse sound is considered

Infant speech-sound discrimination testing: effects of stimulus intensity and procedural model on measures of performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Nozza, R J

1987-06-01

Performance of infants in a speech-sound discrimination task (/ba/ vs /da/) was measured at three stimulus intensity levels (50, 60, and 70 dB SPL) using the operant head-turn procedure. The procedure was modified so that data could be treated as though from a single-interval (yes-no) procedure, as is commonly done, as well as if from a sustained attention (vigilance) task. Discrimination performance changed significantly with increase in intensity, suggesting caution in the interpretation of results from infant discrimination studies in which only single stimulus intensity levels within this range are used. The assumptions made about the underlying methodological model did not change the performance-intensity relationships. However, infants demonstrated response decrement, typical of vigilance tasks, which supports the notion that the head-turn procedure is represented best by the vigilance model. Analysis then was done according to a method designed for tasks with undefined observation intervals [C. S. Watson and T. L. Nichols, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 59, 655-668 (1976)]. Results reveal that, while group data are reasonably well represented across levels of difficulty by the fixed-interval model, there is a variation in performance as a function of time following trial onset that could lead to underestimation of performance in some cases.

Standardized laryngeal videostroboscopic rating : Differences between untrained and trained male and female subjects, and effects of varying sound intensity, fundamental frequency, and age

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sulter, AM; Schutte, HK; Miller, DG

To determine the influence of the factors gender, vocal training, sound intensity, pitch, and aging on vocal function, videolaryngostroboscopic images of 214 subjects, subdivided according to gender and status of vocal training, were evaluated by three judges with standardized rating scales,

Device for precision measurement of speed of sound in a gas

Science.gov (United States)

Kelner, Eric; Minachi, Ali; Owen, Thomas E.; Burzynski, Jr., Marion; Petullo, Steven P.

2004-11-30

A sensor for measuring the speed of sound in a gas. The sensor has a helical coil, through which the gas flows before entering an inner chamber. Flow through the coil brings the gas into thermal equilibrium with the test chamber body. After the gas enters the chamber, a transducer produces an ultrasonic pulse, which is reflected from each of two faces of a target. The time difference between the two reflected signals is used to determine the speed of sound in the gas.

The Influence of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Design on Sound Level

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hsin-Li Chen

2009-12-01

Conclusion: The sound level measured in the enclosed space was quieter than in the open space. The design of bed space should be taken into consideration when building a new NICU. Besides the design of NICU architecture, continuous monitoring of sound level in the NICU is important to maintain a quiet environment.

Active Hearing Mechanisms Inspire Adaptive Amplification in an Acoustic Sensor System.

Science.gov (United States)

Guerreiro, Jose; Reid, Andrew; Jackson, Joseph C; Windmill, James F C

2018-06-01

Over many millions of years of evolution, nature has developed some of the most adaptable sensors and sensory systems possible, capable of sensing, conditioning and processing signals in a very power- and size-effective manner. By looking into biological sensors and systems as a source of inspiration, this paper presents the study of a bioinspired concept of signal processing at the sensor level. By exploiting a feedback control mechanism between a front-end acoustic receiver and back-end neuronal based computation, a nonlinear amplification with hysteretic behavior is created. Moreover, the transient response of the front-end acoustic receiver can also be controlled and enhanced. A theoretical model is proposed and the concept is prototyped experimentally through an embedded system setup that can provide dynamic adaptations of a sensory system comprising a MEMS microphone placed in a closed-loop feedback system. It faithfully mimics the mosquito's active hearing response as a function of the input sound intensity. This is an adaptive acoustic sensor system concept that can be exploited by sensor and system designers within acoustics and ultrasonic engineering fields.

Properties of sound attenuation around a two-dimensional underwater vehicle with a large cavitation number

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ye Peng-Cheng; Pan Guang

2015-01-01

Due to the high speed of underwater vehicles, cavitation is generated inevitably along with the sound attenuation when the sound signal traverses through the cavity region around the underwater vehicle. The linear wave propagation is studied to obtain the influence of bubbly liquid on the acoustic wave propagation in the cavity region. The sound attenuation coefficient and the sound speed formula of the bubbly liquid are presented. Based on the sound attenuation coefficients with various vapor volume fractions, the attenuation of sound intensity is calculated under large cavitation number conditions. The result shows that the sound intensity attenuation is fairly small in a certain condition. Consequently, the intensity attenuation can be neglected in engineering. (paper)

Analysis of sound pressure levels emitted by children's toys.

Science.gov (United States)

Sleifer, Pricila; Gonçalves, Maiara Santos; Tomasi, Marinês; Gomes, Erissandra

2013-06-01

To verify the levels of sound pressure emitted by non-certified children's toys. Cross-sectional study of sound toys available at popular retail stores of the so-called informal sector. Electronic, mechanical, and musical toys were analyzed. The measurement of each product was carried out by an acoustic engineer in an acoustically isolated booth, by a decibel meter. To obtain the sound parameters of intensity and frequency, the toys were set to produce sounds at a distance of 10 and 50cm from the researcher's ear. The intensity of sound pressure [dB(A)] and the frequency in hertz (Hz) were measured. 48 toys were evaluated. The mean sound pressure 10cm from the ear was 102±10 dB(A), and at 50cm, 94±8 dB(A), with ptoys was above 85dB(A). The frequency ranged from 413 to 6,635Hz, with 56.3% of toys emitting frequency higher than 2,000Hz. The majority of toys assessed in this research emitted a high level of sound pressure.

Intersensory Function in Newborns: Effect of Sound on Visual Preferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawson, Katharine Rieke; Turkewitz, Gerald

1980-01-01

Newborn infants' fixation of a graduated series of visual stimuli significantly differed in the absence and presence of white-noise bursts. Relative to the no-sound condition, sound resulted in the infants' tendency to look more at the low-intensity visual stimulus and less at the high- intensity visual stimulus. (Author/DB)

Orientation Estimation and Signal Reconstruction of a Directional Sound Source

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guarato, Francesco

, one for each call emission, were compared to those calculated through a pre-existing technique based on interpolation of sound-pressure levels at microphone locations. The application of the method to the bat calls could provide knowledge on bat behaviour that may be useful for a bat-inspired sensor......Previous works in the literature about one tone or broadband sound sources mainly deal with algorithms and methods developed in order to localize the source and, occasionally, estimate the source bearing angle (with respect to a global reference frame). The problem setting assumes, in these cases......, omnidirectional receivers collecting the acoustic signal from the source: analysis of arrival times in the recordings together with microphone positions and source directivity cues allows to get information about source position and bearing. Moreover, sound sources have been included into sensor systems together...

Cricket inspired flow-sensor arrays

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krijnen, Gijsbertus J.M.; Lammerink, Theodorus S.J.; Wiegerink, Remco J.; Casas, J.

2007-01-01

We report current developments in biomimetic flow-sensors based on mechanoreceptive sensory hairs of crickets. These filiform hairs are highly perceptive to lowfrequency sound with energy sensitivities close to thermal threshold. In this work we describe hair-sensors fabricated by a combination of

FeelSound: interactive acoustic music making

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fikkert, F.W.; Hakvoort, Michiel; Hakvoort, M.C.; van der Vet, P.E.; Nijholt, Antinus

2009-01-01

FeelSound is a multi-user, multi-touch application that aims to collaboratively compose, in an entertaining way, acoustic music. Simultaneous input by each of up to four users enables collaborative composing. This process as well as the resulting music are entertaining. Sensor-packed intelligent

Intensity Maps Production Using Real-Time Joint Streaming Data Processing From Social and Physical Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Kropivnitskaya, Y. Y.; Tiampo, K. F.; Qin, J.; Bauer, M.

2015-12-01

Intensity is one of the most useful measures of earthquake hazard, as it quantifies the strength of shaking produced at a given distance from the epicenter. Today, there are several data sources that could be used to determine intensity level which can be divided into two main categories. The first category is represented by social data sources, in which the intensity values are collected by interviewing people who experienced the earthquake-induced shaking. In this case, specially developed questionnaires can be used in addition to personal observations published on social networks such as Twitter. These observations are assigned to the appropriate intensity level by correlating specific details and descriptions to the Modified Mercalli Scale. The second category of data sources is represented by observations from different physical sensors installed with the specific purpose of obtaining an instrumentally-derived intensity level. These are usually based on a regression of recorded peak acceleration and/or velocity amplitudes. This approach relates the recorded ground motions to the expected felt and damage distribution through empirical relationships. The goal of this work is to implement and evaluate streaming data processing separately and jointly from both social and physical sensors in order to produce near real-time intensity maps and compare and analyze their quality and evolution through 10-minute time intervals immediately following an earthquake. Results are shown for the case study of the M6.0 2014 South Napa, CA earthquake that occurred on August 24, 2014. The using of innovative streaming and pipelining computing paradigms through IBM InfoSphere Streams platform made it possible to read input data in real-time for low-latency computing of combined intensity level and production of combined intensity maps in near-real time. The results compare three types of intensity maps created based on physical, social and combined data sources. Here we correlate

Effect of a sound wave on the stability of an argon discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galechyan, G.A.; Karapetyan, D.M.; Tavakalyan, L.B.

1992-01-01

The effect of a sound wave on the stability of the positive column of an argon discharge has been studied experimentally in the range of pressures from 40 to 180 torr and discharge currents from 40 to 110 mA in a tube with an interior diameter of 9.8 cm. It is shown that, depending on the intensity of the sound wave and the discharge parameters, sound can cause the positive column either to contract or to leave the contracted state. The electric field strength has been measured as a function of the sound intensity. An analogy between the effect of sound and that of longitudinal pumping of the gas on the argon discharge parameters has been established. The radial temperature of the gas has been studied in an argon discharge as a function of the sound intensity for different gas pressures. A direct relationship has been established between the sign of the detector effect produced by a sound wave in a discharge and the processes of contraction and filamentation of a discharge. 11 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

Techniques and instrumentation for the measurement of transient sound energy flux

Science.gov (United States)

Watkinson, P. S.; Fahy, F. J.

1983-12-01

The evaluation of sound intensity distributions, and sound powers, of essentially continuous sources such as automotive engines, electric motors, production line machinery, furnaces, earth moving machinery and various types of process plants were studied. Although such systems are important sources of community disturbance and, to a lesser extent, of industrial health hazard, the most serious sources of hearing hazard in industry are machines operating on an impact principle, such as drop forges, hammers and punches. Controlled experiments to identify major noise source regions and mechanisms are difficult because it is normally impossible to install them in quiet, anechoic environments. The potential for sound intensity measurement to provide a means of overcoming these difficulties has given promising results, indicating the possibility of separation of directly radiated and reverberant sound fields. However, because of the complexity of transient sound fields, a fundamental investigation is necessary to establish the practicability of intensity field decomposition, which is basic to source characterization techniques.

A critical examination of some of the field indicators that have been proposed in connection with sound power determination using the intensity method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Finn

1996-01-01

A considerable number of 'field indicators' or 'quality indicators' have been proposed in connection with sound power determination based on measurement of intensity. For example, the ISO 9614-1 standard prescribes the use four indicators, and in the North American ANSI S12.12 standard no less th...

Speed of sound measurements of liquid C1–C4 alkanols

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dávila, María J.; Gedanitz, Holger; Span, Roland

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Speeds of sound in alkanols were measured in a wide temperature and pressure range. • A pulse-echo method with a double path type sensor was employed. • A double polynomial equation was used to fit the experimental speed of sound data. • The accurate results were compared with available literature sources. - Abstract: Speed of sound measurements were made in methanol, ethanol, propan-1-ol, and butan-1-ol in the temperature range from (253.15 to 353.15) K at pressures up to 30 MPa by use of a pulse-echo method with a double path type sensor. The expanded overall uncertainty (k = 2) in speed of sound measurements are estimated to be 0.026% for methanol, 0.03% for ethanol, 0.013% for propan-1-ol and 0.01% for butan-1-ol. A double polynomial equation for the speed of sound with inputs of temperature and pressure has been fitted from the experimental results. These were compared with available literature sources and fundamental equations of state, showing good agreement among them to comparable alcohol purities and experimental uncertainties.

Effect of gentamicin and levels of ambient sound on hearing screening outcomes in the neonatal intensive care unit: A pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Garinis, Angela C; Liao, Selena; Cross, Campbell P; Galati, Johnathan; Middaugh, Jessica L; Mace, Jess C; Wood, Anna-Marie; McEvoy, Lindsey; Moneta, Lauren; Lubianski, Troy; Coopersmith, Noe; Vigo, Nicholas; Hart, Christopher; Riddle, Artur; Ettinger, Olivia; Nold, Casey; Durham, Heather; MacArthur, Carol; McEvoy, Cynthia; Steyger, Peter S

2017-06-01

Hearing loss rates in infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICU) run at 2-15%, compared to 0.3% in full-term births. The etiology of this difference remains poorly understood. We examined whether the level of ambient sound and/or cumulative gentamicin (an aminoglycoside) exposure affect NICU hearing screening results, as either exposure can cause acquired, permanent hearing loss. We hypothesized that higher levels of ambient sound in the NICU, and/or gentamicin dosing, increase the risk of referral on the distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) assessments and/or automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) screens. This was a prospective pilot outcomes study of 82 infants (4172 Hz) was 44%. DPOAE referrals were significantly greater for infants receiving >2 days of gentamicin dosing compared to fewer doses (p = 0.004). The effect of sound exposure and gentamicin treatment on hearing could not be determined due to the low number of NICU infants without gentamicin exposure (for control comparisons). All infants were exposed to higher levels of ambient sound that substantially exceed AAP guidelines. More referrals were generated by DPOAE assessments than with AABR screens, with significantly more DPOAE referrals with a high-frequency F2 range, consistent with sound- and/or gentamicin-induced cochlear dysfunction. Adding higher frequency DPOAE assessments to existing NICU hearing screening protocols could better identify infants at-risk for ototoxicity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Interactive footstep sounds modulate the perceptual-motor aftereffect of treadmill walking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Turchet, Luca; Camponogara, Ivan; Cesari, Paola

2015-01-01

and snow were provided by means of a system composed of headphones and shoes augmented with sensors. In a control condition, participants could hear their actual footstep sounds. Results showed an overall enhancement of the forward drift after treadmill walking independent of the sound perceived, while...... walking. Behavioral results confirmed those of a perceptual questionnaire, which showed that the snow sound was effective in producing strong pseudo-haptic illusions. Our results provide evidence that the walking in place aftereffect results from a recalibration of haptic, visuo-motor but also sound...

Effect of nocturnal sound reduction on the incidence of delirium in intensive care unit patients: An interrupted time series analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

van de Pol, Ineke; van Iterson, Mat; Maaskant, Jolanda

2017-08-01

Delirium in critically-ill patients is a common multifactorial disorder that is associated with various negative outcomes. It is assumed that sleep disturbances can result in an increased risk of delirium. This study hypothesized that implementing a protocol that reduces overall nocturnal sound levels improves quality of sleep and reduces the incidence of delirium in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients. This interrupted time series study was performed in an adult mixed medical and surgical 24-bed ICU. A pre-intervention group of 211 patients was compared with a post-intervention group of 210 patients after implementation of a nocturnal sound-reduction protocol. Primary outcome measures were incidence of delirium, measured by the Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist (ICDSC) and quality of sleep, measured by the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ). Secondary outcome measures were use of sleep-inducing medication, delirium treatment medication, and patient-perceived nocturnal noise. A significant difference in slope in the percentage of delirium was observed between the pre- and post-intervention periods (-3.7% per time period, p=0.02). Quality of sleep was unaffected (0.3 per time period, p=0.85). The post-intervention group used significantly less sleep-inducing medication (psound-reduction protocol. However, reported sleep quality did not improve. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Radio thermal sounding of natural environments

Science.gov (United States)

Gauss, Martin; Lomukhin, Yuriy

2017-11-01

At the moment, methods of sounding a status of soil, plant, forest and aquatic environments using radiometry and radar methods are intensively used. The main source of information using radar sounding is the back reflection ratio. The radiometric method is used for detection of the brightness temperature. In this paper, a communication between the back reflection ratio and the brightness temperature is described. This communication is proportional.

Light aircraft sound transmission studies - Noise reduction model

Science.gov (United States)

Atwal, Mahabir S.; Heitman, Karen E.; Crocker, Malcolm J.

1987-01-01

Experimental tests conducted on the fuselage of a single-engine Piper Cherokee light aircraft suggest that the cabin interior noise can be reduced by increasing the transmission loss of the dominant sound transmission paths and/or by increasing the cabin interior sound absorption. The validity of using a simple room equation model to predict the cabin interior sound-pressure level for different fuselage and exterior sound field conditions is also presented. The room equation model is based on the sound power flow balance for the cabin space and utilizes the measured transmitted sound intensity data. The room equation model predictions were considered good enough to be used for preliminary acoustical design studies.

Exposure to classroom sound pressure level among dance teachers in Porto Alegre (RS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nehring, Cristiane

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Dance teachers are exposed to high sound intensities. Aim: To verify the sound intensity of music used by dance teachers during classes. Method: This was a transversal and prospective study. Dance teachers were evaluated with a sociodemographic questionnaire, and sound intensity level measurements were taken at the beginning, middle, and end of dance classes. Results: The sample comprised 35 teachers (average age, 31.8 years. The duration of their career as dance teachers was 1-37 years; they worked daily for approximately 1-10 h. Among the classes followed, there were 15 (42.85% classical ballet classes, 4 (11.42% tap dancing lessons, 5 (14.28% jazz dance classes, 2 (5.71 Arab dance lessons, 6 (17.14% street dance classes, and 3 (8.57% ballroom dancing lessons. The average values observed at the beginning, middle, and end of the classes were 80.91 dB (A, 83.22 dB (A, and 85.19 dB (A, respectively. The music played in the street dance classes exposed teachers to the highest sound intensity. Conclusion: The average level of sound intensity of the dance classes in this study was either below or equal to the limit considered harmful for hearing health. Analysis of different class types showed that the sound densities of street, ballroom, and tap dance classes were above the recommended limits.

Biomimetic micromechanical adaptive flow-sensor arrays

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krijnen, Gijsbertus J.M.; Floris, J.; Dijkstra, Marcel; Lammerink, Theodorus S.J.; Wiegerink, Remco J.

2007-01-01

We report current developments in biomimetic flow-sensors based on flow sensitive mechano-sensors of crickets. Crickets have one form of acoustic sensing evolved in the form of mechanoreceptive sensory hairs. These filiform hairs are highly perceptive to low-frequency sound with energy sensitivities

A Survey of Sound Source Localization Methods in Wireless Acoustic Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maximo Cobos

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Wireless acoustic sensor networks (WASNs are formed by a distributed group of acoustic-sensing devices featuring audio playing and recording capabilities. Current mobile computing platforms offer great possibilities for the design of audio-related applications involving acoustic-sensing nodes. In this context, acoustic source localization is one of the application domains that have attracted the most attention of the research community along the last decades. In general terms, the localization of acoustic sources can be achieved by studying energy and temporal and/or directional features from the incoming sound at different microphones and using a suitable model that relates those features with the spatial location of the source (or sources of interest. This paper reviews common approaches for source localization in WASNs that are focused on different types of acoustic features, namely, the energy of the incoming signals, their time of arrival (TOA or time difference of arrival (TDOA, the direction of arrival (DOA, and the steered response power (SRP resulting from combining multiple microphone signals. Additionally, we discuss methods not only aimed at localizing acoustic sources but also designed to locate the nodes themselves in the network. Finally, we discuss current challenges and frontiers in this field.

Neuromorphic optical sensor chip with color change-intensity change disambiguation

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, ZhenHong; Mao, Rui; Cartwright, Alexander N.; Titus, Albert H.

2010-02-01

In this paper, we describe the development of a novel, retina-like neuromorphic chip that has an array of two types of retina 'cells' arranged to mimic the fovea structure in certain animals. One of the two retina cell types performs irradiance detection and the other can perform color detection. Together, via the two parallel pathways the retina chip can perform color change intensity change disambiguation (CCICD). The irradiance detection cell has a wide-dynamic detection range that spans almost 3 orders of magnitude. The color detection cell has a buried double junction (BDJ) photodiode as the photoreceptor followed by two parallel logarithmic I-V convertors. The output from this is a color response which has at least a 50nm resolution for wavelengths from 400nm to 900nm. With these two cells, the array can perform color change -intensity change disambiguation (CCICD) to determine if a change in the output of the irradiance pathway is because of irradiance change, color change, or both. This biological retina-like neuromorphic sensor array is implemented in ON-SEMI 0.5μm technology, a standard CMOS fabrication process available at MOSIS.

Multiple Linear Regression Analysis Indicates Association of P-Glycoprotein Substrate or Inhibitor Character with Bitterness Intensity, Measured with a Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Yano, Kentaro; Mita, Suzune; Morimoto, Kaori; Haraguchi, Tamami; Arakawa, Hiroshi; Yoshida, Miyako; Yamashita, Fumiyoshi; Uchida, Takahiro; Ogihara, Takuo

2015-09-01

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) regulates absorption of many drugs in the gastrointestinal tract and their accumulation in tumor tissues, but the basis of substrate recognition by P-gp remains unclear. Bitter-tasting phenylthiocarbamide, which stimulates taste receptor 2 member 38 (T2R38), increases P-gp activity and is a substrate of P-gp. This led us to hypothesize that bitterness intensity might be a predictor of P-gp-inhibitor/substrate status. Here, we measured the bitterness intensity of a panel of P-gp substrates and nonsubstrates with various taste sensors, and used multiple linear regression analysis to examine the relationship between P-gp-inhibitor/substrate status and various physical properties, including intensity of bitter taste measured with the taste sensor. We calculated the first principal component analysis score (PC1) as the representative value of bitterness, as all taste sensor's outputs shared significant correlation. The P-gp substrates showed remarkably greater mean bitterness intensity than non-P-gp substrates. We found that Km value of P-gp substrates were correlated with molecular weight, log P, and PC1 value, and the coefficient of determination (R(2) ) of the linear regression equation was 0.63. This relationship might be useful as an aid to predict P-gp substrate status at an early stage of drug discovery. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

Atmospheric limb sounding with imaging FTS

Science.gov (United States)

Friedl-Vallon, Felix; Riese, Martin; Preusse, Peter; Oelhaf, Hermann; Fischer, Herbert

Imaging Fourier transform spectrometers in the thermal infrared are a promising new class of sensors for atmospheric science. The availability of fast and sensitive large focal plane arrays with appropriate spectral coverage in the infrared region allows the conception and construction of innovative sensors for Nadir and Limb geometry. Instruments in Nadir geometry have already reached prototype status (e.g. Geostationary Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer / U. Wisconsin and NASA) or are in Phase A study (infrared sounding mission on Meteosat third generation / ESA and EUMETSAT). The first application of the new technical possibilities to atmospheric limb sounding from space, the Imaging Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (IMIPAS), is currently studied by industry in the context of preparatory work for the next set of ESA earth explorers. The scientific focus of the instrument is on the processes controlling the composition of the mid/upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. The instrument concept of IMIPAS has been conceived at the research centres Karlsruhe and J¨lich. The development of a precursor instrument (GLORIA-AB) at these research institutions u started already in 2005. The instrument will be able to fly on board of various airborne platforms. First scientific missions are planned for the second half of the year 2009 on board the new German research aircraft HALO. This airborne sensor serves its own scientific purpose, but it also provides a test bed to learn about this new instrument class and its peculiarities and to learn to exploit and interpret the wealth of information provided by a limb imaging IR Fourier transform spectrometer. The presentation will discuss design considerations and challenges for GLORIA-AB and put them in the context of the planned satellite application. It will describe the solutions found, present first laboratory figures of merit for the prototype instrument and outline the new scientific

Using K-Nearest Neighbor Classification to Diagnose Abnormal Lung Sounds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chin-Hsing Chen

2015-06-01

Full Text Available A reported 30% of people worldwide have abnormal lung sounds, including crackles, rhonchi, and wheezes. To date, the traditional stethoscope remains the most popular tool used by physicians to diagnose such abnormal lung sounds, however, many problems arise with the use of a stethoscope, including the effects of environmental noise, the inability to record and store lung sounds for follow-up or tracking, and the physician’s subjective diagnostic experience. This study has developed a digital stethoscope to help physicians overcome these problems when diagnosing abnormal lung sounds. In this digital system, mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs were used to extract the features of lung sounds, and then the K-means algorithm was used for feature clustering, to reduce the amount of data for computation. Finally, the K-nearest neighbor method was used to classify the lung sounds. The proposed system can also be used for home care: if the percentage of abnormal lung sound frames is > 30% of the whole test signal, the system can automatically warn the user to visit a physician for diagnosis. We also used bend sensors together with an amplification circuit, Bluetooth, and a microcontroller to implement a respiration detector. The respiratory signal extracted by the bend sensors can be transmitted to the computer via Bluetooth to calculate the respiratory cycle, for real-time assessment. If an abnormal status is detected, the device will warn the user automatically. Experimental results indicated that the error in respiratory cycles between measured and actual values was only 6.8%, illustrating the potential of our detector for home care applications.

Efficacy and mode of action of a noise-sensor light alarm to decrease noise in the pediatric intensive care unit: a prospective, randomized study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jousselme, Chloé; Vialet, Renaud; Jouve, Elisabeth; Lagier, Pierre; Martin, Claude; Michel, Fabrice

2011-03-01

To determine whether a sound-activated light-alarm device could reduce the noise in the central area of our pediatric intensive care unit and to determine whether this reduction was significant enough to decrease the noise that could be perceived by a patient located in a nearby room. The secondary objective was to determine the mode of action of the device. In a 16-bed pediatric and neonatal intensive care unit, a large and clearly noticeable sound-activated light device was set in the noisiest part of the central area of our unit, and noise measurements were made in the central area and in a nearby room. In a prospective, quasi-experimental design, sound levels were compared across three different situations--no device present, device present and turned on, and device present but turned off--and noise level measurements were made over a total of 18 days. None. Setting a sound-activated light device on or off. When the device was present, the noise was about 2 dB lower in the central area and in a nearby room, but there was no difference in noise level with the device turned on vs. turned off. The noise decrease in the central area was of limited importance but was translated in a nearby room. The sound-activated light device did not directly decrease noise when turned on, but repetition of the visual signal throughout the day raised staff awareness of noise levels over time.

Musical Sound, Instruments, and Equipment

Science.gov (United States)

Photinos, Panos

2017-12-01

'Musical Sound, Instruments, and Equipment' offers a basic understanding of sound, musical instruments and music equipment, geared towards a general audience and non-science majors. The book begins with an introduction of the fundamental properties of sound waves, and the perception of the characteristics of sound. The relation between intensity and loudness, and the relation between frequency and pitch are discussed. The basics of propagation of sound waves, and the interaction of sound waves with objects and structures of various sizes are introduced. Standing waves, harmonics and resonance are explained in simple terms, using graphics that provide a visual understanding. The development is focused on musical instruments and acoustics. The construction of musical scales and the frequency relations are reviewed and applied in the description of musical instruments. The frequency spectrum of selected instruments is explored using freely available sound analysis software. Sound amplification and sound recording, including analog and digital approaches, are discussed in two separate chapters. The book concludes with a chapter on acoustics, the physical factors that affect the quality of the music experience, and practical ways to improve the acoustics at home or small recording studios. A brief technical section is provided at the end of each chapter, where the interested reader can find the relevant physics and sample calculations. These quantitative sections can be skipped without affecting the comprehension of the basic material. Questions are provided to test the reader's understanding of the material. Answers are given in the appendix.

Computerised respiratory sounds can differentiate smokers and non-smokers.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Ana; Sen, Ipek; Kahya, Yasemin P; Afreixo, Vera; Marques, Alda

2017-06-01

Cigarette smoking is often associated with the development of several respiratory diseases however, if diagnosed early, the changes in the lung tissue caused by smoking may be reversible. Computerised respiratory sounds have shown to be sensitive to detect changes within the lung tissue before any other measure, however it is unknown if it is able to detect changes in the lungs of healthy smokers. This study investigated the differences between computerised respiratory sounds of healthy smokers and non-smokers. Healthy smokers and non-smokers were recruited from a university campus. Respiratory sounds were recorded simultaneously at 6 chest locations (right and left anterior, lateral and posterior) using air-coupled electret microphones. Airflow (1.0-1.5 l/s) was recorded with a pneumotachograph. Breathing phases were detected using airflow signals and respiratory sounds with validated algorithms. Forty-four participants were enrolled: 18 smokers (mean age 26.2, SD = 7 years; mean FEV 1 % predicted 104.7, SD = 9) and 26 non-smokers (mean age 25.9, SD = 3.7 years; mean FEV 1 % predicted 96.8, SD = 20.2). Smokers presented significantly higher frequency at maximum sound intensity during inspiration [(M = 117, SD = 16.2 Hz vs. M = 106.4, SD = 21.6 Hz; t(43) = -2.62, p = 0.0081, d z  = 0.55)], lower expiratory sound intensities (maximum intensity: [(M = 48.2, SD = 3.8 dB vs. M = 50.9, SD = 3.2 dB; t(43) = 2.68, p = 0.001, d z  = -0.78)]; mean intensity: [(M = 31.2, SD = 3.6 dB vs. M = 33.7,SD = 3 dB; t(43) = 2.42, p = 0.001, d z  = 0.75)] and higher number of inspiratory crackles (median [interquartile range] 2.2 [1.7-3.7] vs. 1.5 [1.2-2.2], p = 0.081, U = 110, r = -0.41) than non-smokers. Significant differences between computerised respiratory sounds of smokers and non-smokers have been found. Changes in respiratory sounds are often the earliest sign of disease. Thus, computerised respiratory sounds

Olfaction and Hearing Based Mobile Robot Navigation for Odor/Sound Source Search

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Kai; Liu, Qi; Wang, Qi

2011-01-01

Bionic technology provides a new elicitation for mobile robot navigation since it explores the way to imitate biological senses. In the present study, the challenging problem was how to fuse different biological senses and guide distributed robots to cooperate with each other for target searching. This paper integrates smell, hearing and touch to design an odor/sound tracking multi-robot system. The olfactory robot tracks the chemical odor plume step by step through information fusion from gas sensors and airflow sensors, while two hearing robots localize the sound source by time delay estimation (TDE) and the geometrical position of microphone array. Furthermore, this paper presents a heading direction based mobile robot navigation algorithm, by which the robot can automatically and stably adjust its velocity and direction according to the deviation between the current heading direction measured by magnetoresistive sensor and the expected heading direction acquired through the odor/sound localization strategies. Simultaneously, one robot can communicate with the other robots via a wireless sensor network (WSN). Experimental results show that the olfactory robot can pinpoint the odor source within the distance of 2 m, while two hearing robots can quickly localize and track the olfactory robot in 2 min. The devised multi-robot system can achieve target search with a considerable success ratio and high stability. PMID:22319401

Olfaction and Hearing Based Mobile Robot Navigation for Odor/Sound Source Search

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qi Wang

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Bionic technology provides a new elicitation for mobile robot navigation since it explores the way to imitate biological senses. In the present study, the challenging problem was how to fuse different biological senses and guide distributed robots to cooperate with each other for target searching. This paper integrates smell, hearing and touch to design an odor/sound tracking multi-robot system. The olfactory robot tracks the chemical odor plume step by step through information fusion from gas sensors and airflow sensors, while two hearing robots localize the sound source by time delay estimation (TDE and the geometrical position of microphone array. Furthermore, this paper presents a heading direction based mobile robot navigation algorithm, by which the robot can automatically and stably adjust its velocity and direction according to the deviation between the current heading direction measured by magnetoresistive sensor and the expected heading direction acquired through the odor/sound localization strategies. Simultaneously, one robot can communicate with the other robots via a wireless sensor network (WSN. Experimental results show that the olfactory robot can pinpoint the odor source within the distance of 2 m, while two hearing robots can quickly localize and track the olfactory robot in 2 min. The devised multi-robot system can achieve target search with a considerable success ratio and high stability.

Telehealth, Wearable Sensors, and the Internet: Will They Improve Stroke Outcomes Through Increased Intensity of Therapy, Motivation, and Adherence to Rehabilitation Programs?

Science.gov (United States)

Burridge, Jane H; Lee, Alan Chong W; Turk, Ruth; Stokes, Maria; Whitall, Jill; Vaidyanathan, Ravi; Clatworthy, Phil; Hughes, Ann-Marie; Meagher, Claire; Franco, Enrico; Yardley, Lucy

2017-07-01

Stroke, predominantly a condition of older age, is a major cause of acquired disability in the global population and puts an increasing burden on health care resources. Clear evidence for the importance of intensity of therapy in optimizing functional outcomes is found in animal models, supported by neuroimaging and behavioral research, and strengthened by recent meta-analyses from multiple clinical trials. However, providing intensive therapy using conventional treatment paradigms is expensive and sometimes not feasible because of social and environmental factors. This article addresses the need for cost-effective increased intensity of practice and suggests potential benefits of telehealth (TH) as an innovative model of care in physical therapy. We provide an overview of TH and present evidence that a web-supported program, used in conjunction with constraint-induced therapy (CIT), can increase intensity and adherence to a rehabilitation regimen. The design and feasibility testing of this web-based program, "LifeCIT," is presented. We describe how wearable sensors can monitor activity and provide feedback to patients and therapists. The methodology for the development of a wearable device with embedded inertial and mechanomyographic sensors, algorithms to classify functional movement, and a graphical user interface to present meaningful data to patients to support a home exercise program is explained. We propose that wearable sensor technologies and TH programs have the potential to provide most-effective, intensive, home-based stroke rehabilitation.

A low-cost, portable, high-throughput wireless sensor system for phonocardiography applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Sa-Ngasoongsong, Akkarapol; Kunthong, Jakkrit; Sarangan, Venkatesh; Cai, Xinwei; Bukkapatnam, Satish T S

2012-01-01

This paper presents the design and testing of a wireless sensor system developed using a Microchip PICDEM developer kit to acquire and monitor human heart sounds for phonocardiography applications. This system can serve as a cost-effective option to the recent developments in wireless phonocardiography sensors that have primarily focused on Bluetooth technology. This wireless sensor system has been designed and developed in-house using off-the-shelf components and open source software for remote and mobile applications. The small form factor (3.75 cm × 5 cm × 1 cm), high throughput (6,000 Hz data streaming rate), and low cost ($13 per unit for a 1,000 unit batch) of this wireless sensor system make it particularly attractive for phonocardiography and other sensing applications. The experimental results of sensor signal analysis using several signal characterization techniques suggest that this wireless sensor system can capture both fundamental heart sounds (S1 and S2), and is also capable of capturing abnormal heart sounds (S3 and S4) and heart murmurs without aliasing. The results of a denoising application using Wavelet Transform show that the undesirable noises of sensor signals in the surrounding environment can be reduced dramatically. The exercising experiment results also show that this proposed wireless PCG system can capture heart sounds over different heart conditions simulated by varying heart rates of six subjects over a range of 60-180 Hz through exercise testing.

A Low-Cost, Portable, High-Throughput Wireless Sensor System for Phonocardiography Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akkarapol Sa-ngasoongsong

2012-08-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the design and testing of a wireless sensor system developed using a Microchip PICDEM developer kit to acquire and monitor human heart sounds for phonocardiography applications. This system can serve as a cost-effective option to the recent developments in wireless phonocardiography sensors that have primarily focused on Bluetooth technology. This wireless sensor system has been designed and developed in-house using off-the-shelf components and open source software for remote and mobile applications. The small form factor (3.75 cm ´ 5 cm ´ 1 cm, high throughput (6,000 Hz data streaming rate, and low cost ($13 per unit for a 1,000 unit batch of this wireless sensor system make it particularly attractive for phonocardiography and other sensing applications. The experimental results of sensor signal analysis using several signal characterization techniques suggest that this wireless sensor system can capture both fundamental heart sounds (S1 and S2, and is also capable of capturing abnormal heart sounds (S3 and S4 and heart murmurs without aliasing. The results of a denoising application using Wavelet Transform show that the undesirable noises of sensor signals in the surrounding environment can be reduced dramatically. The exercising experiment results also show that this proposed wireless PCG system can capture heart sounds over different heart conditions simulated by varying heart rates of six subjects over a range of 60–180 Hz through exercise testing.

Sound and speech detection and classification in a Health Smart Home.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleury, A; Noury, N; Vacher, M; Glasson, H; Seri, J F

2008-01-01

Improvements in medicine increase life expectancy in the world and create a new bottleneck at the entrance of specialized and equipped institutions. To allow elderly people to stay at home, researchers work on ways to monitor them in their own environment, with non-invasive sensors. To meet this goal, smart homes, equipped with lots of sensors, deliver information on the activities of the person and can help detect distress situations. In this paper, we present a global speech and sound recognition system that can be set-up in a flat. We placed eight microphones in the Health Smart Home of Grenoble (a real living flat of 47m(2)) and we automatically analyze and sort out the different sounds recorded in the flat and the speech uttered (to detect normal or distress french sentences). We introduce the methods for the sound and speech recognition, the post-processing of the data and finally the experimental results obtained in real conditions in the flat.

Temporal and Spatial Comparisons of Underwater Sound Signatures of Different Reef Habitats in Moorea Island, French Polynesia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frédéric Bertucci

Full Text Available As environmental sounds are used by larval fish and crustaceans to locate and orientate towards habitat during settlement, variations in the acoustic signature produced by habitats could provide valuable information about habitat quality, helping larvae to differentiate between potential settlement sites. However, very little is known about how acoustic signatures differ between proximate habitats. This study described within- and between-site differences in the sound spectra of five contiguous habitats at Moorea Island, French Polynesia: the inner reef crest, the barrier reef, the fringing reef, a pass and a coastal mangrove forest. Habitats with coral (inner, barrier and fringing reefs were characterized by a similar sound spectrum with average intensities ranging from 70 to 78 dB re 1 μPa.Hz(-1. The mangrove forest had a lower sound intensity of 70 dB re 1 μPa.Hz(-1 while the pass was characterized by a higher sound level with an average intensity of 91 dB re 1 μPa.Hz(-1. Habitats showed significantly different intensities for most frequencies, and a decreasing intensity gradient was observed from the reef to the shore. While habitats close to the shore showed no significant diel variation in sound intensities, sound levels increased at the pass during the night and barrier reef during the day. These two habitats also appeared to be louder in the North than in the West. These findings suggest that daily variations in sound intensity and across-reef sound gradients could be a valuable source of information for settling larvae. They also provide further evidence that closely related habitats, separated by less than 1 km, can differ significantly in their spectral composition and that these signatures might be typical and conserved along the coast of Moorea.

Method and Apparatus for Characterizing Pressure Sensors using Modulated Light Beam Pressure

Science.gov (United States)

Youngquist, Robert C. (Inventor)

2003-01-01

Embodiments of apparatuses and methods are provided that use light sources instead of sound sources for characterizing and calibrating sensors for measuring small pressures to mitigate many of the problems with using sound sources. In one embodiment an apparatus has a light source for directing a beam of light on a sensing surface of a pressure sensor for exerting a force on the sensing surface. The pressure sensor generates an electrical signal indicative of the force exerted on the sensing surface. A modulator modulates the beam of light. A signal processor is electrically coupled to the pressure sensor for receiving the electrical signal.

Behavioural Response Thresholds in New Zealand Crab Megalopae to Ambient Underwater Sound

Science.gov (United States)

Stanley, Jenni A.; Radford, Craig A.; Jeffs, Andrew G.

2011-01-01

A small number of studies have demonstrated that settlement stage decapod crustaceans are able to detect and exhibit swimming, settlement and metamorphosis responses to ambient underwater sound emanating from coastal reefs. However, the intensity of the acoustic cue required to initiate the settlement and metamorphosis response, and therefore the potential range over which this acoustic cue may operate, is not known. The current study determined the behavioural response thresholds of four species of New Zealand brachyuran crab megalopae by exposing them to different intensity levels of broadcast reef sound recorded from their preferred settlement habitat and from an unfavourable settlement habitat. Megalopae of the rocky-reef crab, Leptograpsus variegatus, exhibited the lowest behavioural response threshold (highest sensitivity), with a significant reduction in time to metamorphosis (TTM) when exposed to underwater reef sound with an intensity of 90 dB re 1 µPa and greater (100, 126 and 135 dB re 1 µPa). Megalopae of the mud crab, Austrohelice crassa, which settle in soft sediment habitats, exhibited no response to any of the underwater reef sound levels. All reef associated species exposed to sound levels from an unfavourable settlement habitat showed no significant change in TTM, even at intensities that were similar to their preferred reef sound for which reductions in TTM were observed. These results indicated that megalopae were able to discern and respond selectively to habitat-specific acoustic cues. The settlement and metamorphosis behavioural response thresholds to levels of underwater reef sound determined in the current study of four species of crabs, enables preliminary estimation of the spatial range at which an acoustic settlement cue may be operating, from 5 m to 40 km depending on the species. Overall, these results indicate that underwater sound is likely to play a major role in influencing the spatial patterns of settlement of coastal crab

Sound and sound sources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Ole Næsbye; Wahlberg, Magnus

2017-01-01

There is no difference in principle between the infrasonic and ultrasonic sounds, which are inaudible to humans (or other animals) and the sounds that we can hear. In all cases, sound is a wave of pressure and particle oscillations propagating through an elastic medium, such as air. This chapter...... is about the physical laws that govern how animals produce sound signals and how physical principles determine the signals’ frequency content and sound level, the nature of the sound field (sound pressure versus particle vibrations) as well as directional properties of the emitted signal. Many...... of these properties are dictated by simple physical relationships between the size of the sound emitter and the wavelength of emitted sound. The wavelengths of the signals need to be sufficiently short in relation to the size of the emitter to allow for the efficient production of propagating sound pressure waves...

Ambient Sound-Based Collaborative Localization of Indeterministic Devices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kamminga, Jacob Wilhelm; Le Viet Duc, L Duc; Havinga, Paul J.M.

2016-01-01

Localization is essential in wireless sensor networks. To our knowledge, no prior work has utilized low-cost devices for collaborative localization based on only ambient sound, without the support of local infrastructure. The reason may be the fact that most low-cost devices are indeterministic and

On the applicability of models for outdoor sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Karsten Bo

1999-01-01

not only sound pressure levels but also phase information. Such methods are, however, not always able to predict the sound field for more complicated scenarios involving terrain features, atmospheric wind and temperature gradients and turbulence. Another class of methods is based upon approximate theory......The suitable prediction model for outdoor sound fields depends on the situation and the application. Computationally intensive methods such as Parabolic Equation methods, FFP methods and Boundary Element Methods all have advantages in certain situations. These approaches are accurate and predict...

Sound generating flames of a gas turbine burner observed by laser-induced fluorescence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hubschmid, W; Inauen, A.; Bombach, R.; Kreutner, W.; Schenker, S.; Zajadatz, M. [Alstom (Switzerland); Motz, C. [Alstom (Switzerland); Haffner, K. [Alstom (Switzerland); Paschereit, C.O. [Alstom (Switzerland)

2002-03-01

We performed 2-D OH LIF measurements to investigate the sound emission of a gas turbine combustor. The measured LIF signal was averaged over pulses at constant phase of the dominant acoustic oscillation. A periodic variation in intensity and position of the signal is observed and it is related to the measured sound intensity. (author)

Source Separation of Heartbeat Sounds for Effective E-Auscultation

Science.gov (United States)

Geethu, R. S.; Krishnakumar, M.; Pramod, K. V.; George, Sudhish N.

2016-03-01

This paper proposes a cost effective solution for improving the effectiveness of e-auscultation. Auscultation is the most difficult skill for a doctor, since it can be acquired only through experience. The heart sound mixtures are captured by placing the four numbers of sensors at appropriate auscultation area in the body. These sound mixtures are separated to its relevant components by a statistical method independent component analysis. The separated heartbeat sounds can be further processed or can be stored for future reference. This idea can be used for making a low cost, easy to use portable instrument which will be beneficial to people living in remote areas and are unable to take the advantage of advanced diagnosis methods.

Jump in the amplitude of a sound wave associated with contraction of a nitrogen discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galechyan, G.A.; Mkrtchyan, A.R.; Tavakalyan, L.B.

1993-01-01

The use of a sound wave created by an external source and directed along the positive column of a nitrogen discharge in order to make the discharge pass to the contracted state is studied experimentally. A phenomenon involving a jump in the sound wave amplitude, caused by the discharge contraction, is observed and studied. It is established that the amplitude of the sound wave as a function of the discharge current near the jump exhibits hysteresis. It is shown that in the field of a high-intensity sound wave causing the discharge to expand eliminates the jump in the sound amplitude. The dependence of the growth time of the sound amplitude caused by the jump in this quantity on the sound wave intensity is determined. 24 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

Opponent Coding of Sound Location (Azimuth) in Planum Temporale is Robust to Sound-Level Variations.

Science.gov (United States)

Derey, Kiki; Valente, Giancarlo; de Gelder, Beatrice; Formisano, Elia

2016-01-01

Coding of sound location in auditory cortex (AC) is only partially understood. Recent electrophysiological research suggests that neurons in mammalian auditory cortex are characterized by broad spatial tuning and a preference for the contralateral hemifield, that is, a nonuniform sampling of sound azimuth. Additionally, spatial selectivity decreases with increasing sound intensity. To accommodate these findings, it has been proposed that sound location is encoded by the integrated activity of neuronal populations with opposite hemifield tuning ("opponent channel model"). In this study, we investigated the validity of such a model in human AC with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a phase-encoding paradigm employing binaural stimuli recorded individually for each participant. In all subjects, we observed preferential fMRI responses to contralateral azimuth positions. Additionally, in most AC locations, spatial tuning was broad and not level invariant. We derived an opponent channel model of the fMRI responses by subtracting the activity of contralaterally tuned regions in bilateral planum temporale. This resulted in accurate decoding of sound azimuth location, which was unaffected by changes in sound level. Our data thus support opponent channel coding as a neural mechanism for representing acoustic azimuth in human AC. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

fMRI activation in relation to sound intensity and loudness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Langers, Dave R. M.; van Dijk, Pirn; Schoemaker, Esther S.; Backes, Walter H.

2007-01-01

The aim of this fMRI study was to relate cortical fMRI responses to both physical and perceptual sound level characteristics. Besides subjects with normal hearing, subjects with high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss were included, as distortion of loudness perception is a characteristic of such

Investigating the relationship between pressure force and acoustic waveform in footstep sounds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grani, Francesco; Serafin, Stefania; Götzen, Amalia De

2013-01-01

In this paper we present an inquiry into of the relationships between audio waveforms and ground reaction force in recorded footstep sounds. In an anechoic room, we recorded several footstep sounds produced while walking on creaking wood and gravel. The recordings were performed by using a pair o...... of sandals embedded with six pressure sensors each. Investigations of the relationships between recorded force and footstep sounds is presented, together with several possible applications of the system.......In this paper we present an inquiry into of the relationships between audio waveforms and ground reaction force in recorded footstep sounds. In an anechoic room, we recorded several footstep sounds produced while walking on creaking wood and gravel. The recordings were performed by using a pair...

Is 9 louder than 1? Audiovisual cross-modal interactions between number magnitude and judged sound loudness.

Science.gov (United States)

Alards-Tomalin, Doug; Walker, Alexander C; Shaw, Joshua D M; Leboe-McGowan, Launa C

2015-09-01

The cross-modal impact of number magnitude (i.e. Arabic digits) on perceived sound loudness was examined. Participants compared a target sound's intensity level against a previously heard reference sound (which they judged as quieter or louder). Paired with each target sound was a task irrelevant Arabic digit that varied in magnitude, being either small (1, 2, 3) or large (7, 8, 9). The degree to which the sound and the digit were synchronized was manipulated, with the digit and sound occurring simultaneously in Experiment 1, and the digit preceding the sound in Experiment 2. Firstly, when target sounds and digits occurred simultaneously, sounds paired with large digits were categorized as loud more frequently than sounds paired with small digits. Secondly, when the events were separated, number magnitude ceased to bias sound intensity judgments. In Experiment 3, the events were still separated, however the participants held the number in short-term memory. In this instance the bias returned. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Active structural acoustic control for reduction of radiated sound from structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Jin Seok; Oh, Jae Eung

2001-01-01

Active control of sound radiation from a vibrating rectangular plate by a steady-state harmonic point force disturbance is experimentally studied. Structural excitation is achieved by two piezoceramic actuators mounted on the panel. Two accelerometers are implemented as error sensors. Estimated radiated sound signals using vibro-acoustic path transfer function are used as error signals. The vibro-acoustic path transfer function represents system between accelerometers and microphones. The approach is based on a multi-channel filtered-x LMS algorithm. The results shows that attenuation of sound levels of 11dB, 10dB is achieved

Effect of the radiofrequency volumetric tissue reduction of inferior turbinate on expiratory nasal sound frequency.

Science.gov (United States)

Seren, Erdal

2009-01-01

We sought to evaluate the short-term efficacy of radiofrequency volumetric tissue reduction (RFVTR) in treatment of inferior turbinate hypertrophy (TH) as measured by expiratory nasal sound spectra. In our study, we aimed to investigate the Odiosoft-rhino (OR) as a new diagnostic method to evaluate the nasal airflow of patients before and after RFVTR. In this study, we have analyzed and recorded the expiratory nasal sound in patients with inferior TH before and after RFVTR. This analysis includes the time expanded waveform, the spectral analysis with time averaged fast Fourier transform (FFT), and the waveform analysis of nasal sound. We found an increase in sound intensity at high frequency (Hf) in the sound analyses of the patients before RFVTR and a decrease in sound intensity at Hf was found in patients after RFVTR. This study indicates that RFVTR is an effective procedure to improve nasal airflow in the patients with nasal obstruction with inferior TH. We found significant decreases in the sound intensity level at Hf in the sound spectra after RFVTR. The OR results from the 2000- to 4000-Hz frequency (Hf) interval may be more useful in assessing patients with nasal obstruction than other frequency intervals. OR may be used as a noninvasive diagnostic tool to evaluate the nasal airflow.

Problems in nonlinear acoustics: Pulsed finite amplitude sound beams, nonlinear acoustic wave propagation in a liquid layer, nonlinear effects in asymmetric cylindrical sound beams, effects of absorption on the interaction of sound beams, and parametric receiving arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Mark F.

1990-12-01

This report discusses five projects all of which involve basic theoretical research in nonlinear acoustics: (1) pulsed finite amplitude sound beams are studied with a recently developed time domain computer algorithm that solves the KZK nonlinear parabolic wave equation; (2) nonlinear acoustic wave propagation in a liquid layer is a study of harmonic generation and acoustic soliton information in a liquid between a rigid and a free surface; (3) nonlinear effects in asymmetric cylindrical sound beams is a study of source asymmetries and scattering of sound by sound at high intensity; (4) effects of absorption on the interaction of sound beams is a completed study of the role of absorption in second harmonic generation and scattering of sound by sound; and (5) parametric receiving arrays is a completed study of parametric reception in a reverberant environment.

Design of an Integrated Sensor Platform for Vital Sign Monitoring of Newborn Infants at Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Chen

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Continuous health status monitoring and advances in medical treatments have resulted in a significant increase of survival rate in critically ill infants admitted into Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs. The quality of life and long-term health prospects of the neonates depend increasingly on the reliability and comfort of the monitoring systems. In this paper, we present the design work of a smart jacket for vital sign monitoring of neonates at a NICU. The design represents a unique integration of sensor technology, user focus and design aspects. Textile sensors, a reflectance pulse oximeter and a wearable temperature sensor were proposed to be embedded into the smart jacket. Location of the sensor, materials and appearance were designed to optimize the functionality, patient comfort and the possibilities for aesthetic features. Prototypes were built for demonstrating the design concept and experimental results were obtained from tests on premature babies at the NICU of M�xima Medical Centre (MMC in Veldhoven, the Netherlands.

Design of virtual three-dimensional instruments for sound control

Science.gov (United States)

Mulder, Axel Gezienus Elith

An environment for designing virtual instruments with 3D geometry has been prototyped and applied to real-time sound control and design. It enables a sound artist, musical performer or composer to design an instrument according to preferred or required gestural and musical constraints instead of constraints based only on physical laws as they apply to an instrument with a particular geometry. Sounds can be created, edited or performed in real-time by changing parameters like position, orientation and shape of a virtual 3D input device. The virtual instrument can only be perceived through a visualization and acoustic representation, or sonification, of the control surface. No haptic representation is available. This environment was implemented using CyberGloves, Polhemus sensors, an SGI Onyx and by extending a real- time, visual programming language called Max/FTS, which was originally designed for sound synthesis. The extension involves software objects that interface the sensors and software objects that compute human movement and virtual object features. Two pilot studies have been performed, involving virtual input devices with the behaviours of a rubber balloon and a rubber sheet for the control of sound spatialization and timbre parameters. Both manipulation and sonification methods affect the naturalness of the interaction. Informal evaluation showed that a sonification inspired by the physical world appears natural and effective. More research is required for a natural sonification of virtual input device features such as shape, taking into account possible co- articulation of these features. While both hands can be used for manipulation, left-hand-only interaction with a virtual instrument may be a useful replacement for and extension of the standard keyboard modulation wheel. More research is needed to identify and apply manipulation pragmatics and movement features, and to investigate how they are co-articulated, in the mapping of virtual object

Sound recovery via intensity variations of speckle pattern pixels selected with variance-based method

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Ge; Yao, Xu-Ri; Qiu, Peng; Mahmood, Waqas; Yu, Wen-Kai; Sun, Zhi-Bin; Zhai, Guang-Jie; Zhao, Qing

2018-02-01

In general, the sound waves can cause the vibration of the objects that are encountered in the traveling path. If we make a laser beam illuminate the rough surface of an object, it will be scattered into a speckle pattern that vibrates with these sound waves. Here, an efficient variance-based method is proposed to recover the sound information from speckle patterns captured by a high-speed camera. This method allows us to select the proper pixels that have large variances of the gray-value variations over time, from a small region of the speckle patterns. The gray-value variations of these pixels are summed together according to a simple model to recover the sound with a high signal-to-noise ratio. Meanwhile, our method will significantly simplify the computation compared with the traditional digital-image-correlation technique. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been verified by applying a variety of objects. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed method is robust to the quality of the speckle patterns and costs more than one-order less time to perform the same number of the speckle patterns. In our experiment, a sound signal of time duration 1.876 s is recovered from various objects with time consumption of 5.38 s only.

Virtual sensors for active noise control in acoustic-structural coupled enclosures using structural sensing: robust virtual sensor design.

Science.gov (United States)

Halim, Dunant; Cheng, Li; Su, Zhongqing

2011-03-01

The work was aimed to develop a robust virtual sensing design methodology for sensing and active control applications of vibro-acoustic systems. The proposed virtual sensor was designed to estimate a broadband acoustic interior sound pressure using structural sensors, with robustness against certain dynamic uncertainties occurring in an acoustic-structural coupled enclosure. A convex combination of Kalman sub-filters was used during the design, accommodating different sets of perturbed dynamic model of the vibro-acoustic enclosure. A minimax optimization problem was set up to determine an optimal convex combination of Kalman sub-filters, ensuring an optimal worst-case virtual sensing performance. The virtual sensing and active noise control performance was numerically investigated on a rectangular panel-cavity system. It was demonstrated that the proposed virtual sensor could accurately estimate the interior sound pressure, particularly the one dominated by cavity-controlled modes, by using a structural sensor. With such a virtual sensing technique, effective active noise control performance was also obtained even for the worst-case dynamics. © 2011 Acoustical Society of America

Pervasive Sound Sensing: A Weakly Supervised Training Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Daniel; Caulfield, Brian

2016-01-01

Modern smartphones present an ideal device for pervasive sensing of human behavior. Microphones have the potential to reveal key information about a person's behavior. However, they have been utilized to a significantly lesser extent than other smartphone sensors in the context of human behavior sensing. We postulate that, in order for microphones to be useful in behavior sensing applications, the analysis techniques must be flexible and allow easy modification of the types of sounds to be sensed. A simplification of the training data collection process could allow a more flexible sound classification framework. We hypothesize that detailed training, a prerequisite for the majority of sound sensing techniques, is not necessary and that a significantly less detailed and time consuming data collection process can be carried out, allowing even a nonexpert to conduct the collection, labeling, and training process. To test this hypothesis, we implement a diverse density-based multiple instance learning framework, to identify a target sound, and a bag trimming algorithm, which, using the target sound, automatically segments weakly labeled sound clips to construct an accurate training set. Experiments reveal that our hypothesis is a valid one and results show that classifiers, trained using the automatically segmented training sets, were able to accurately classify unseen sound samples with accuracies comparable to supervised classifiers, achieving an average F -measure of 0.969 and 0.87 for two weakly supervised datasets.

On the applicability of models for outdoor sound (A)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Karsten Bo

1999-01-01

not only sound pressure levels but also phase information. Such methods are, however, not always able to predict the sound field for more complicated scenarios involving terrain features, atmospheric wind and temperature gradients, and turbulence. Another class of methods is based upon approximate theory......The suitable prediction model for outdoor sound fields depends on the situation and the application. Computationally intensive methods such as parabolic equation methods, FFP methods, and boundary element methods all have advantages in certain situations. These approaches are accurate and predict...

Sound Propagation An impedance Based Approach

CERN Document Server

Kim, Yang-Hann

2010-01-01

In Sound Propagation: An Impedance Based Approach , Professor Yang-Hann Kim introduces acoustics and sound fields by using the concept of impedance. Kim starts with vibrations and waves, demonstrating how vibration can be envisaged as a kind of wave, mathematically and physically. One-dimensional waves are used to convey the fundamental concepts. Readers can then understand wave propagation in terms of characteristic and driving point impedance. The essential measures for acoustic waves, such as dB scale, octave scale, acoustic pressure, energy, and intensity, are explained. These measures are

Nonlinear effects during sound propagation in n-InSb at 4.20K

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ilisavskij, Yu.V.; Chiplis, D.

1975-01-01

The absorption of transverse sound and the influence of longitudinal electric and magnetic fields thereon were studied in n-InSb at 4.2 0 K over a wide range of frequencies and intensities. The electron absorption of sound was found to depend strongly on input intensity due to the heating of electrons by the sound wave. It was discovered that the observed non-linearity was suppressed by the electric field. On the basis of comparison of the experimental results with the existing theories it is concluded that during the heating of electrons by sound, apart from changes in mobility, the carrier concentration in the conductivity band is also substantially changed. The measurements in the magnetic field agree qualitatively with the two-band conductivity model. (author)

3D Room Visualization on Android Based Mobile Device (with Philips™’ Surround Sound Music Player

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Durio Etgar

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This project’s specifically purposed as a demo application, so anyone can get the experience of a surround audio room without having to physically involved to it, with a main idea of generating a 3D surround sound room scenery coupled with surround sound in a handier package, namely, a “Virtual Listen Room”. Virtual Listen Room set a foundation of an innovative visualization that later will be developed and released as one of way of portable advertisement. This application was built inside of Android environment. Android device had been chosen as the implementation target, since it leaves massive development spaces and mostly contains essential components needed on this project, including graphic processor unit (GPU.  Graphic manipulation can be done using an embedded programming interface called OpenGL ES, which is planted in all Android devices generally. Further, Android has a Accelerometer Sensor that is needed to be coupled with scene to produce a dynamic movement of the camera. Surround sound effect can be reached with a decoder from Phillips called MPEG Surround Sound Decoder. To sum the whole project, we got an application with sensor-dynamic 3D room visualization coupled with Philips’ Surround Sound Music Player. We can manipulate several room’s properties; Subwoofer location, Room light, and how many speakers inside it, the application itself works well despite facing several performance problems before, later to be solved. [Keywords : Android,Visualization,Open GL; ES; 3D; Surround Sensor

Neuromimetic Sound Representation for Percept Detection and Manipulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chi Taishih

2005-01-01

Full Text Available The acoustic wave received at the ears is processed by the human auditory system to separate different sounds along the intensity, pitch, and timbre dimensions. Conventional Fourier-based signal processing, while endowed with fast algorithms, is unable to easily represent a signal along these attributes. In this paper, we discuss the creation of maximally separable sounds in auditory user interfaces and use a recently proposed cortical sound representation, which performs a biomimetic decomposition of an acoustic signal, to represent and manipulate sound for this purpose. We briefly overview algorithms for obtaining, manipulating, and inverting a cortical representation of a sound and describe algorithms for manipulating signal pitch and timbre separately. The algorithms are also used to create sound of an instrument between a "guitar" and a "trumpet." Excellent sound quality can be achieved if processing time is not a concern, and intelligible signals can be reconstructed in reasonable processing time (about ten seconds of computational time for a one-second signal sampled at . Work on bringing the algorithms into the real-time processing domain is ongoing.

The Biosocial Subject: Sensor Technologies and Worldly Sensibility

Science.gov (United States)

de Freitas, Elizabeth

2018-01-01

Sensor technologies are increasingly part of everyday life, embedded in buildings (movement, sound, temperature) and worn on persons (heart rate, electro-dermal activity, eye tracking). This paper presents a theoretical framework for research on computational sensor data. My approach moves away from theories of agent-centered perceptual synthesis…

Sound characteristics of Terapon jorbua as a response to temperature changes

Science.gov (United States)

Amron; Jaya, I.; Hestirianoto, T.; Juterzenka, K. v.

2017-10-01

The change of water temperature has potential impact on the behavior of aquatic animal including fish which generated by their sound productivity and characteristics. This research aimed to study the response of sound productivity and characteristics of Terapon jorbua to temperature change. As a response to temperature increase, T. jorbua to have decreased the number of sound productivity. Two characteristic parameters of fish sound, i.e. intensity and frequency as were quadratic increased during the water temperature rises. In contrast, pulse duration was quadratic decreased.

A Two-Level Sound Classification Platform for Environmental Monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stelios A. Mitilineos

2018-01-01

Full Text Available STORM is an ongoing European research project that aims at developing an integrated platform for monitoring, protecting, and managing cultural heritage sites through technical and organizational innovation. Part of the scheduled preventive actions for the protection of cultural heritage is the development of wireless acoustic sensor networks (WASNs that will be used for assessing the impact of human-generated activities as well as for monitoring potentially hazardous environmental phenomena. Collected sound samples will be forwarded to a central server where they will be automatically classified in a hierarchical manner; anthropogenic and environmental activity will be monitored, and stakeholders will be alarmed in the case of potential malevolent behavior or natural phenomena like excess rainfall, fire, gale, high tides, and waves. Herein, we present an integrated platform that includes sound sample denoising using wavelets, feature extraction from sound samples, Gaussian mixture modeling of these features, and a powerful two-layer neural network for automatic classification. We contribute to previous work by extending the proposed classification platform to perform low-level classification too, i.e., classify sounds to further subclasses that include airplane, car, and pistol sounds for the anthropogenic sound class; bird, dog, and snake sounds for the biophysical sound class; and fire, waterfall, and gale for the geophysical sound class. Classification results exhibit outstanding classification accuracy in both high-level and low-level classification thus demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed approach.

The frequency range of TMJ sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Widmalm, S E; Williams, W J; Djurdjanovic, D; McKay, D C

2003-04-01

There are conflicting opinions about the frequency range of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) sounds. Some authors claim that the upper limit is about 650 Hz. The aim was to test the hypothesis that TMJ sounds may contain frequencies well above 650 Hz but that significant amounts of their energy are lost if the vibrations are recorded using contact sensors and/or travel far through the head tissues. Time-frequency distributions of 172 TMJ clickings (three subjects) were compared between recordings with one microphone in the ear canal and a skin contact transducer above the clicking joint and between recordings from two microphones, one in each ear canal. The energy peaks of the clickings recorded with a microphone in the ear canal on the clicking side were often well above 650 Hz and always in a significantly higher area (range 117-1922 Hz, P 375 Hz) or in microphone recordings from the opposite ear canal (range 141-703 Hz). Future studies are required to establish normative frequency range values of TMJ sounds but need methods also capable of recording the high frequency vibrations.

Active Noise Control Experiments using Sound Energy Flu

Science.gov (United States)

Krause, Uli

2015-03-01

This paper reports on the latest results concerning the active noise control approach using net flow of acoustic energy. The test set-up consists of two loudspeakers simulating the engine noise and two smaller loudspeakers which belong to the active noise system. The system is completed by two acceleration sensors and one microphone per loudspeaker. The microphones are located in the near sound field of the loudspeakers. The control algorithm including the update equation of the feed-forward controller is introduced. Numerical simulations are performed with a comparison to a state of the art method minimising the radiated sound power. The proposed approach is experimentally validated.

Development of a Rigid One-Meter-Side and Cooled Coil Sensor at 77 K for Magnetic Resonance Sounding to Detect Subsurface Water Sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jun; Du, Guanfeng; Zhang, Jian; Yi, Xiaofeng; Jiang, Chuandong; Lin, Tingting

2017-06-12

Magnetic resonance sounding (MRS) using the Earth's magnetic field is a noninvasive and on-site geophysical technique providing quantitative characteristics of aquifers in the subsurface. When the MRS technology is applied in a mine or tunnel for advance detecting the source of water that may cause disastrous accident, spatial constraints limit the size of coil sensor and thus lower the detection capability. In this paper, a coil sensor for detecting the weak MRS signal is designed and the signal to noise (SNR) for the coil sensor is analyzed and optimized. The coil sensor has a rigid structure and square size of 1 m for deploying in a narrow underground space and is cooled at a low temperature of 77 K for improving the SNR. A theoretical calculation and an experimental test in an electromagnetically shielded room (EMSR) show that the optimal design of coil sensor consists of an 80-turn coil and a low-current-noise preamplifier AD745. It has a field sensitivity of 0.17 fT / Hz in the EMSR at 77 K, which is superior to the low temperature Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (LT SQUID) that is the latest application in MRS and the cooled coil with a diameter of 9 cm when detecting the laboratory NMR signal in kHz range. In the field experiment above the Taipingchi Reservoir near Changchun in China, the cooled coil sensor (CCS) developed in this paper has successfully obtained a valid weak MRS signal in high noise environment. The field results showed that the quality of measured MRS signal at 77 K is significantly superior to that at 298 K and the SNR is improved up to three times. This property of CCS makes the MRS instrument more convenient and reliable in a constricted space underground engineering environment (e.g., a mine or a tunnel).

Development of a Rigid One-Meter-Side and Cooled Coil Sensor at 77 K for Magnetic Resonance Sounding to Detect Subsurface Water Sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Lin

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Magnetic resonance sounding (MRS using the Earth’s magnetic field is a noninvasive and on-site geophysical technique providing quantitative characteristics of aquifers in the subsurface. When the MRS technology is applied in a mine or tunnel for advance detecting the source of water that may cause disastrous accident, spatial constraints limit the size of coil sensor and thus lower the detection capability. In this paper, a coil sensor for detecting the weak MRS signal is designed and the signal to noise (SNR for the coil sensor is analyzed and optimized. The coil sensor has a rigid structure and square size of 1 m for deploying in a narrow underground space and is cooled at a low temperature of 77 K for improving the SNR. A theoretical calculation and an experimental test in an electromagnetically shielded room (EMSR show that the optimal design of coil sensor consists of an 80-turn coil and a low-current-noise preamplifier AD745. It has a field sensitivity of 0.17 fT / Hz in the EMSR at 77 K, which is superior to the low temperature Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (LT SQUID that is the latest application in MRS and the cooled coil with a diameter of 9 cm when detecting the laboratory NMR signal in kHz range. In the field experiment above the Taipingchi Reservoir near Changchun in China, the cooled coil sensor (CCS developed in this paper has successfully obtained a valid weak MRS signal in high noise environment. The field results showed that the quality of measured MRS signal at 77 K is significantly superior to that at 298 K and the SNR is improved up to three times. This property of CCS makes the MRS instrument more convenient and reliable in a constricted space underground engineering environment (e.g., a mine or a tunnel.

Optical fibres sensor based in the intensity switch of a linear laser with two Bragg gratings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basurto P, M.A.; Kuzin, E.A.; Archundia B, C.; Marroquin, E.; May A, M.; Cerecedo N, H.H.; Sanchez M, J.J.; Tentori S, D.; Marquez B, I.; Shliagin, M.; Miridonov, S.

2000-01-01

In this work we propose a new configuration for an optical fiber temperature sensor, based on a linear type Er-doped fiber laser. The laser cavity consists of an Er-doped fiber and two identical Bragg gratings at the fiber ends (working as reflectors). Temperature changes are detected by measuring, through one of the gratings, the intensity variations at the system's output. When the temperature of one of the Bragg gratings is modified, a wavelength shift of its spectral reflectivity is observed. Hence, the laser emission intensity of the system is modified. We present experimental results of the intensity switch observed when the temperature difference between the gratings detunes their spectral reflectance. Making use of this effect it is possible to develop limit comparators to bound the temperature range for the object under supervision. This limiting work can be performed with a high sensitivity using a very simple interrogation procedure. (Author)

SoundScapes - Beyond Interaction... in search of the ultimate human-centred interface

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brooks, Tony

2006-01-01

that can also benefit communication. To achieve this a new generation of intuitive natural interfaces will be required and SoundScapes (see below) is a step toward this goal to discover the ultimate interface for matching the human experience to technology. Emergent hypothesis that have developed...... as a result of the SoundScapes research will be discussed. Introduction to SoundScapes SoundScapes is a contemporary art concept that has become widely known as an interdisciplinary platform for knowledge exchange, innovative product creation of creative and scientific work that uses non-invasive sensor...... Resonance. The multimedia content is adaptable so that the environment is tailored for each participant according to a user profile. This full body movement or the smallest of gesture results in human data input to SoundScapes. The same technology that enables this empowerment is used for performance art...

Sound Propagation Considerations for a Deep-Ocean Acoustic Network

Science.gov (United States)

2009-12-01

classic “ tea cup” surveillance volume for a bottom sensor. 27 Figure 18. TL of a 100-Hz, 3995-m source using a 4000-m Munk sound speed profile B...18. LTJG Pongaskorn Sommai, Royal Thai Navy Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, California 19. ENS William Jenkins, USN Naval Postgraduate School

Comparison of snoring sounds between natural and drug-induced sleep recorded using a smartphone.

Science.gov (United States)

Koo, Soo Kweon; Kwon, Soon Bok; Moon, Ji Seung; Lee, Sang Hoon; Lee, Ho Byung; Lee, Sang Jun

2018-08-01

Snoring is an important clinical feature of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and recent studies suggest that the acoustic quality of snoring sounds is markedly different in drug-induced sleep compared with natural sleep. However, considering differences in sound recording methods and analysis parameters, further studies are required. This study explored whether acoustic analysis of drug-induced sleep is useful as a screening test that reflects the characteristics of natural sleep in snoring patients. The snoring sounds of 30 male subjects (mean age=41.8years) were recorded using a smartphone during natural and induced sleep, with the site of vibration noted during drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE); then, we compared the sound intensity (dB), formant frequencies, and spectrograms of snoring sounds. Regarding the intensity of snoring sounds, there were minor differences within the retrolingual level obstruction group, but there was no significant difference between natural and induced sleep at either obstruction site. There was no significant difference in the F 1 and F 2 formant frequencies of snoring sounds between natural sleep and induced sleep at either obstruction site. Compared with natural sleep, induced sleep was slightly more irregular, with a stronger intensity on the spectrogram, but the spectrograms showed the same pattern at both obstruction sites. Although further studies are required, the spectrograms and formant frequencies of the snoring sounds of induced sleep did not differ significantly from those of natural sleep, and may be used as a screening test that reflects the characteristics of natural sleep according to the obstruction site. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Method for measuring violin sound radiation based on bowed glissandi and its application to sound synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Perez Carrillo, Alfonso; Bonada, Jordi; Patynen, Jukka; Valimaki, Vesa

2011-08-01

This work presents a method for measuring and computing violin-body directional frequency responses, which are used for violin sound synthesis. The approach is based on a frame-weighted deconvolution of excitation and response signals. The excitation, consisting of bowed glissandi, is measured with piezoelectric transducers built into the bridge. Radiation responses are recorded in an anechoic chamber with multiple microphones placed at different angles around the violin. The proposed deconvolution algorithm computes impulse responses that, when convolved with any source signal (captured with the same transducer), produce a highly realistic violin sound very similar to that of a microphone recording. The use of motion sensors allows for tracking violin movements. Combining this information with the directional responses and using a dynamic convolution algorithm, helps to improve the listening experience by incorporating the violinist motion effect in stereo.

Understanding the ‘Intensive’ in ‘Data Intensive Research’: Data Flows in Next Generation Sequencing and Environmental Networked Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruth McNally

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Genomic and environmental sciences represent two poles of scientific data. In the first, highly parallel sequencing facilities generate large quantities of sequence data. In the latter, loosely networked remote and field sensors produce intermittent streams of different data types. Yet both genomic and environmental sciences are said to be moving to data intensive research. This paper explores and contrasts data flow in these two domains in order to better understand how data intensive research is being done. Our case studies are next generation sequencing for genomics and environmental networked sensors.Our objective was to enrich understanding of the ‘intensive’ processes and properties of data intensive research through a ‘sociology’ of data using methods that capture the relational properties of data flows. Our key methodological innovation was the staging of events for practitioners with different kinds of expertise in data intensive research to participate in the collective annotation of visual forms. Through such events we built a substantial digital data archive of our own that we then analysed in terms of three traits of data flow: durability, replicability and metrology.Our findings are that analysing data flow with respect to these three traits provides better insight into how doing data intensive research involves people, infrastructures, practices, things, knowledge and institutions. Collectively, these elements shape the topography of data and condition how it flows. We argue that although much attention is given to phenomena such as the scale, volume and speed of data in data intensive research, these are measures of what we call ‘extensive’ properties rather than intensive ones. Our thesis is that extensive changes, that is to say those that result in non-linear changes in metrics, can be seen to result from intensive changes that bring multiple, disparate flows into confluence.If extensive shifts in the modalities of

A Real-Time Sound Field Rendering Processor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tan Yiyu

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Real-time sound field renderings are computationally intensive and memory-intensive. Traditional rendering systems based on computer simulations suffer from memory bandwidth and arithmetic units. The computation is time-consuming, and the sample rate of the output sound is low because of the long computation time at each time step. In this work, a processor with a hybrid architecture is proposed to speed up computation and improve the sample rate of the output sound, and an interface is developed for system scalability through simply cascading many chips to enlarge the simulated area. To render a three-minute Beethoven wave sound in a small shoe-box room with dimensions of 1.28 m × 1.28 m × 0.64 m, the field programming gate array (FPGA-based prototype machine with the proposed architecture carries out the sound rendering at run-time while the software simulation with the OpenMP parallelization takes about 12.70 min on a personal computer (PC with 32 GB random access memory (RAM and an Intel i7-6800K six-core processor running at 3.4 GHz. The throughput in the software simulation is about 194 M grids/s while it is 51.2 G grids/s in the prototype machine even if the clock frequency of the prototype machine is much lower than that of the PC. The rendering processor with a processing element (PE and interfaces consumes about 238,515 gates after fabricated by the 0.18 µm processing technology from the ROHM semiconductor Co., Ltd. (Kyoto Japan, and the power consumption is about 143.8 mW.

Foley Sounds vs Real Sounds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trento, Stefano; Götzen, Amalia De

2011-01-01

This paper is an initial attempt to study the world of sound effects for motion pictures, also known as Foley sounds. Throughout several audio and audio-video tests we have compared both Foley and real sounds originated by an identical action. The main purpose was to evaluate if sound effects...

Aircraft panel with sensorless active sound power reduction capabilities through virtual mechanical impedances

Science.gov (United States)

Boulandet, R.; Michau, M.; Micheau, P.; Berry, A.

2016-01-01

This paper deals with an active structural acoustic control approach to reduce the transmission of tonal noise in aircraft cabins. The focus is on the practical implementation of the virtual mechanical impedances method by using sensoriactuators instead of conventional control units composed of separate sensors and actuators. The experimental setup includes two sensoriactuators developed from the electrodynamic inertial exciter and distributed over an aircraft trim panel which is subject to a time-harmonic diffuse sound field. The target mechanical impedances are first defined by solving a linear optimization problem from sound power measurements before being applied to the test panel using a complex envelope controller. Measured data are compared to results obtained with sensor-actuator pairs consisting of an accelerometer and an inertial exciter, particularly as regards sound power reduction. It is shown that the two types of control unit provide similar performance, and that here virtual impedance control stands apart from conventional active damping. In particular, it is clear from this study that extra vibrational energy must be provided by the actuators for optimal sound power reduction, mainly due to the high structural damping in the aircraft trim panel. Concluding remarks on the benefits of using these electrodynamic sensoriactuators to control tonal disturbances are also provided.

The nocturnal acoustical intensity of the intensive care environment: an observational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Delaney, Lori J; Currie, Marian J; Huang, Hsin-Chia Carol; Lopez, Violeta; Litton, Edward; Van Haren, Frank

2017-01-01

The intensive care unit (ICU) environment exposes patients to noise levels that may result in substantial sleep disruption. There is a need to accurately describe the intensity pattern and source of noise in the ICU in order to develop effective sound abatement strategies. The objectives of this study were to determine nocturnal noise levels and their variability and the related sources of noise within an Australian tertiary ICU. An observational cross-sectional study was conducted in a 24-bed open-plan ICU. Sound levels were recorded overnight during three nights at 5-s epochs using Extech (SDL 600) sound monitors. Noise sources were concurrently logged by two research assistants. The mean recorded ambient noise level in the ICU was 52.85 decibels (dB) (standard deviation (SD) 5.89), with a maximum noise recording at 98.3 dB (A). All recorded measurements exceeded the WHO recommendations. Noise variability per minute ranged from 9.9 to 44 dB (A), with peak noise levels >70 dB (A) occurring 10 times/hour (SD 11.4). Staff were identified as the most common source accounting for 35% of all noise. Mean noise levels in single-patient rooms compared with open-bed areas were 53.5 vs 53 dB ( p  = 0.37), respectively. Mean noise levels exceeded those recommended by the WHO resulting in an acoustical intensity of 193 times greater than the recommended and demonstrated a high degree of unpredictable variability, with the primary noise sources coming from staff conversations. The lack of protective effects of single rooms and the contributing effects that staffs have on noise levels are important factors when considering sound abatement strategies.

Rapidly updated hyperspectral sounding and imaging data for severe storm prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Bingham, Gail; Jensen, Scott; Elwell, John; Cardon, Joel; Crain, David; Huang, Hung-Lung (Allen); Smith, William L.; Revercomb, Hank E.; Huppi, Ronald J.

2013-09-01

Several studies have shown that a geostationary hyperspectral imager/sounder can provide the most significant value increase in short term, regional numerical prediction weather models over a range of other options. In 1998, the Geostationary Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS) proposal was selected by NASA as the New Millennium Earth Observation 3 program over several other geostationary instrument development proposals. After the EO3 GIFTS flight demonstration program was changed to an Engineering Development Unit (EDU) due to funding limitations by one of the partners, the EDU was subjected to flight-like thermal vacuum calibration and testing and successfully validated the breakthrough technologies needed to make a successful observatory. After several government stops and starts, only EUMETSAT's Meteosat Third Generation (MTG-S) sounder is in operational development. Recently, a commercial partnership has been formed to fill the significant data gap. AsiaSat has partnered with GeoMetWatch (GMW)1 to fund the development and launch of the Sounding and Tracking Observatory for Regional Meteorology (STORMTM) sensor, a derivative of the Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS) EDU that was designed, built, and tested by Utah State University (USU). STORMTM combines advanced technologies to observe surface thermal properties, atmospheric weather, and chemistry variables in four dimensions to provide high vertical resolution temperature and moisture sounding information, with the fourth dimension (time) provided by the geosynchronous satellite platform ability to measure a location as often as desired. STORMTM will enhance the polar orbiting imaging and sounding measurements by providing: (1) a direct measure of moisture flux and altitude-resolved water vapor and cloud tracer winds throughout the troposphere, (2) an observation of the time varying atmospheric thermodynamics associated with storm system development, and (3) the

78 FR 13869 - Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Puget Sound Energy...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-01

...-123-LNG; 12-128-NG; 12-148-NG; 12- 158-NG] Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; CE FLNG, LLC; Consolidated...-NG Puget Sound Energy, Inc Order granting long- term authority to import/export natural gas from/to...

What Constitutes a Phrase in Sound-Based Music? A Mixed-Methods Investigation of Perception and Acoustics.

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Kirk N; Dean, Roger T; Leung, Yvonne

2016-01-01

Phrasing facilitates the organization of auditory information and is central to speech and music. Not surprisingly, aspects of changing intensity, rhythm, and pitch are key determinants of musical phrases and their boundaries in instrumental note-based music. Different kinds of speech (such as tone- vs. stress-languages) share these features in different proportions and form an instructive comparison. However, little is known about whether or how musical phrasing is perceived in sound-based music, where the basic musical unit from which a piece is created is commonly non-instrumental continuous sounds, rather than instrumental discontinuous notes. This issue forms the target of the present paper. Twenty participants (17 untrained in music) were presented with six stimuli derived from sound-based music, note-based music, and environmental sound. Their task was to indicate each occurrence of a perceived phrase and qualitatively describe key characteristics of the stimulus associated with each phrase response. It was hypothesized that sound-based music does elicit phrase perception, and that this is primarily associated with temporal changes in intensity and timbre, rather than rhythm and pitch. Results supported this hypothesis. Qualitative analysis of participant descriptions showed that for sound-based music, the majority of perceived phrases were associated with intensity or timbral change. For the note-based piano piece, rhythm was the main theme associated with perceived musical phrasing. We modeled the occurrence in time of perceived musical phrases with recurrent event 'hazard' analyses using time-series data representing acoustic predictors associated with intensity, spectral flatness, and rhythmic density. Acoustic intensity and timbre (represented here by spectral flatness) were strong predictors of perceived musical phrasing in sound-based music, and rhythm was only predictive for the piano piece. A further analysis including five additional spectral

A unified approach for the spatial enhancement of sound

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Joung-Woo; Jang, Ji-Ho; Kim, Yang-Hann

2005-09-01

This paper aims to control the sound field spatially, so that the desired or target acoustic variable is enhanced within a zone where a listener is located. This is somewhat analogous to having manipulators that can draw sounds in any place. This also means that one can somehow see the controlled shape of sound in frequency or in real time. The former assures its practical applicability, for example, listening zone control for music. The latter provides a mean of analyzing sound field. With all these regards, a unified approach is proposed that can enhance selected acoustic variables using multiple sources. Three kinds of acoustic variables that have to do with magnitude and direction of sound field are formulated and enhanced. The first one, which has to do with the spatial control of acoustic potential energy, enables one to make a zone of loud sound over an area. Otherwise, one can control directional characteristic of sound field by controlling directional energy density, or one can enhance the magnitude and direction of sound at the same time by controlling acoustic intensity. Throughout various examples, it is shown that these acoustic variables can be controlled successfully by the proposed approach.

Lung and Heart Sounds Analysis: State-of-the-Art and Future Trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Padilla-Ortiz, Ana L; Ibarra, David

2018-01-01

Lung sounds, which include all sounds that are produced during the mechanism of respiration, may be classified into normal breath sounds and adventitious sounds. Normal breath sounds occur when no respiratory problems exist, whereas adventitious lung sounds (wheeze, rhonchi, crackle, etc.) are usually associated with certain pulmonary pathologies. Heart and lung sounds that are heard using a stethoscope are the result of mechanical interactions that indicate operation of cardiac and respiratory systems, respectively. In this article, we review the research conducted during the last six years on lung and heart sounds, instrumentation and data sources (sensors and databases), technological advances, and perspectives in processing and data analysis. Our review suggests that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are the most common respiratory diseases reported on in the literature; related diseases that are less analyzed include chronic bronchitis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, congestive heart failure, and parenchymal pathology. Some new findings regarding the methodologies associated with advances in the electronic stethoscope have been presented for the auscultatory heart sound signaling process, including analysis and clarification of resulting sounds to create a diagnosis based on a quantifiable medical assessment. The availability of automatic interpretation of high precision of heart and lung sounds opens interesting possibilities for cardiovascular diagnosis as well as potential for intelligent diagnosis of heart and lung diseases.

Remote Sensing of Suspended Sediment Dynamics in the Mississippi Sound

Science.gov (United States)

Merritt, D. N.; Skarke, A. D.; Silwal, S.; Dash, P.

2016-02-01

The Mississippi Sound is a semi-enclosed estuary between the coast of Mississippi and a chain of offshore barrier islands with relatively shallow water depths and high marine biodiversity that is wildly utilized for commercial fishing and public recreation. The discharge of sediment-laden rivers into the Mississippi Sound and the adjacent Northern Gulf of Mexico creates turbid plumes that can extend hundreds of square kilometers along the coast and persist for multiple days. The concentration of suspended sediment in these coastal waters is an important parameter in the calculation of regional sediment budgets as well as analysis of water-quality factors such as primary productivity, nutrient dynamics, and the transport of pollutants as well as pathogens. The spectral resolution, sampling frequency, and regional scale spatial domain associated with satellite based sensors makes remote sensing an ideal tool to monitor suspended sediment dynamics in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Accordingly, the presented research evaluates the validity of published models that relate remote sensing reflectance with suspended sediment concentrations (SSC), for similar environmental settings, with 51 in situ observations of SSC from the Mississippi Sound. Additionally, regression analysis is used to correlate additional in situ observations of SSC in Mississippi Sound with coincident observations of visible and near-infrared band reflectance collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor aboard the Aqua satellite, in order to develop a site-specific empirical predictive model for SSC. Finally, specific parameters of the sampled suspended sediment such as grain size and mineralogy are analyzed in order to quantify their respective contributions to total remotely sensed reflectance.

Stargate-based Acoustic Sensor Platform

OpenAIRE

Hanbiao Wang; Kung Yao; Deborah Estrin

2004-01-01

To facilitate the study of the wireless sensor network for demanding acoustic monitoring of long distance sources, we recently have also started working on the development of a new generation of wireless acoustic sensor network platform using the Stargate nodes. The 400 MHz PXA-255 XScale processor and the 64 MB SDRAM provide the Stargate platform a decent processing capability. The VX Pocket 440 sound card with four external microphones are attached to each Stargate node through the PCMCIA s...

Generation of the vorticity mode by sound in a Bingham plastic

Science.gov (United States)

Perelomova, Anna; Wojda, Pawel

2011-10-01

This study investigates interaction between acoustic and non-acoustic modes, such as vorticity mode, in some class of a non-newtonian fluid called Bingham plastic. The instantaneous equations describing interaction between different modes are derived. The attention is paid to the nonlinear effects in the field of intense sound. The resulting equations which describe dynamics of both sound and the vorticity mode apply to both periodic and aperiodic sound of any waveform. They use only instantaneous quantities and do not imply averaging over the sound period. The theory is illustrated by an example of acoustic force of vorticity induced in the field of a Gaussian sound beam. Some unusual peculiarities in both sound and the vorticity induced in its field as compared to a newtonian fluid, are discovered.

Neurons in the inferior colliculus of the rat show stimulus-specific adaptation for frequency, but not for intensity

Science.gov (United States)

Duque, Daniel; Wang, Xin; Nieto-Diego, Javier; Krumbholz, Katrin; Malmierca, Manuel S.

2016-01-01

Electrophysiological and psychophysical responses to a low-intensity probe sound tend to be suppressed by a preceding high-intensity adaptor sound. Nevertheless, rare low-intensity deviant sounds presented among frequent high-intensity standard sounds in an intensity oddball paradigm can elicit an electroencephalographic mismatch negativity (MMN) response. This has been taken to suggest that the MMN is a correlate of true change or “deviance” detection. A key question is where in the ascending auditory pathway true deviance sensitivity first emerges. Here, we addressed this question by measuring low-intensity deviant responses from single units in the inferior colliculus (IC) of anesthetized rats. If the IC exhibits true deviance sensitivity to intensity, IC neurons should show enhanced responses to low-intensity deviant sounds presented among high-intensity standards. Contrary to this prediction, deviant responses were only enhanced when the standards and deviants differed in frequency. The results could be explained with a model assuming that IC neurons integrate over multiple frequency-tuned channels and that adaptation occurs within each channel independently. We used an adaptation paradigm with multiple repeated adaptors to measure the tuning widths of these adaption channels in relation to the neurons’ overall tuning widths. PMID:27066835

Acoustic Sensor for Voice with Embedded Physiology

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Scanlon, Michael

1999-01-01

.... It is low cost and comfortable to wear for extended periods. When the sensor pad is in contact with a patient's thorax, neck, or temple region, sounds can be immediately and continuously monitored...

Assessment of the health effects of low-frequency sounds and infra-sounds from wind farms. ANSES Opinion. Collective expertise report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lepoutre, Philippe; Avan, Paul; Cheveigne, Alain de; Ecotiere, David; Evrard, Anne-Sophie; Hours, Martine; Lelong, Joel; Moati, Frederique; Michaud, David; Toppila, Esko; Beugnet, Laurent; Bounouh, Alexandre; Feltin, Nicolas; Campo, Pierre; Dore, Jean-Francois; Ducimetiere, Pierre; Douki, Thierry; Flahaut, Emmanuel; Gaffet, Eric; Lafaye, Murielle; Martinsons, Christophe; Mouneyrac, Catherine; Ndagijimana, Fabien; Soyez, Alain; Yardin, Catherine; Cadene, Anthony; Merckel, Olivier; Niaudet, Aurelie; Cadene, Anthony; Saddoki, Sophia; Debuire, Brigitte; Genet, Roger

2017-03-01

The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) reiterates that wind turbines emit infra-sounds (sound below 20 Hz) and low-frequency sounds. There are also other sources of infra-sound emissions that can be natural (wind in particular) or anthropogenic (heavy-goods vehicles, heat pumps, etc.). The measurement campaigns undertaken during the expert appraisal enabled these emissions from three wind farms to be characterised. In general, only very high intensities of infra-sound can be heard or perceived by humans. At the minimum distance (of 500 metres) separating homes from wind farm sites set out by the regulations, the infra-sounds produced by wind turbines do not exceed hearing thresholds. Therefore, the disturbance related to audible noise potentially felt by people around wind farms mainly relates to frequencies above 50 Hz. The expert appraisal showed that mechanisms for health effects grouped under the term 'vibro-acoustic disease', reported in certain publications, have no serious scientific basis. There have been very few scientific studies on the potential health effects of infra-sounds and low frequencies produced by wind turbines. The review of these experimental and epidemiological data did not find any adequate scientific arguments for the occurrence of health effects related to exposure to noise from wind turbines, other than disturbance related to audible noise and a nocebo effect, which can help explain the occurrence of stress-related symptoms experienced by residents living near wind farms. However, recently acquired knowledge on the physiology of the cochlea-vestibular system has revealed physiological effects in animals induced by exposure to high-intensity infra-sounds. These effects, while plausible in humans, have yet to be demonstrated for exposure to levels comparable to those observed in residents living near wind farms. Moreover, the connection between these physiological effects and the occurrence of

Human-inspired sound environment recognition system for assistive vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

González Vidal, Eduardo; Fredes Zarricueta, Ernesto; Auat Cheein, Fernando

2015-02-01

Objective. The human auditory system acquires environmental information under sound stimuli faster than visual or touch systems, which in turn, allows for faster human responses to such stimuli. It also complements senses such as sight, where direct line-of-view is necessary to identify objects, in the environment recognition process. This work focuses on implementing human reaction to sound stimuli and environment recognition on assistive robotic devices, such as robotic wheelchairs or robotized cars. These vehicles need environment information to ensure safe navigation. Approach. In the field of environment recognition, range sensors (such as LiDAR and ultrasonic systems) and artificial vision devices are widely used; however, these sensors depend on environment constraints (such as lighting variability or color of objects), and sound can provide important information for the characterization of an environment. In this work, we propose a sound-based approach to enhance the environment recognition process, mainly for cases that compromise human integrity, according to the International Classification of Functioning (ICF). Our proposal is based on a neural network implementation that is able to classify up to 15 different environments, each selected according to the ICF considerations on environment factors in the community-based physical activities of people with disabilities. Main results. The accuracy rates in environment classification ranges from 84% to 93%. This classification is later used to constrain assistive vehicle navigation in order to protect the user during daily activities. This work also includes real-time outdoor experimentation (performed on an assistive vehicle) by seven volunteers with different disabilities (but without cognitive impairment and experienced in the use of wheelchairs), statistical validation, comparison with previously published work, and a discussion section where the pros and cons of our system are evaluated. Significance

Towards parameter-free classification of sound effects in movies

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Selina; Narayanan, Shrikanth; Kuo, C.-C. J.

2005-08-01

The problem of identifying intense events via multimedia data mining in films is investigated in this work. Movies are mainly characterized by dialog, music, and sound effects. We begin our investigation with detecting interesting events through sound effects. Sound effects are neither speech nor music, but are closely associated with interesting events such as car chases and gun shots. In this work, we utilize low-level audio features including MFCC and energy to identify sound effects. It was shown in previous work that the Hidden Markov model (HMM) works well for speech/audio signals. However, this technique requires a careful choice in designing the model and choosing correct parameters. In this work, we introduce a framework that will avoid such necessity and works well with semi- and non-parametric learning algorithms.

Sound Synthesis and Evaluation of Interactive Footsteps for Virtual Reality Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordahl, Rolf; Serafin, Stefania; Turchet, Luca

2010-01-01

A system to synthesize in real-time the sound of footsteps on different materials is presented. The system is based on microphones which allow the user to interact with his own footwear. This solution distinguishes our system from previous efforts that require specific shoes enhanced with sensors...

Photonic Crystals: Intensity-Dependent Transmission Protects Sensors

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Rosenberg, Armand; Shirk, James

2000-01-01

.... The devices can perform several useful optical functions, the most obvious of which is protecting optical elements and sensors, including the eyes, from damage by sudden flashes of highintensity light...

Passive (self-powered) fiber-optic sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McElhaney, S.A.; Falter, D.D.; Todd, R.A.; Simpson, M.L.; Mihalczo, J.T.

1992-01-01

ORNL is developing new group of fiber-optic sensors for characterizing physical aspects such as ambient temperature. These sensors exploit the inherent property of thermographic materials that the lifetime and/or intensity of the emitted fluorescence decreases with increasing temperature. Unlike current fluorescent temperature sensors that use a light source for excitation, these sensors are totally passive (self-powered) and use either an embedded or external radiation source. A proof-of-principle temperature sensor was developed, based on this concept, using a well-known thermographic material, magnesium fluorogermanate. Experimental results showed that the radiation-induced fluorescence resulted in an intensity change but no significant decay rate change with increasing temperature

PERANCANGAN DAN IMPLEMENTASI SOUND LEVEL METER (SLM DALAM SKALA LABORATORIUM SEBAGAI ALAT UKUR INTENSITAS BUNYI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamaludin .

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Laboratory based research is the implementation of Wave Mechanics ( GM . In this physical peristtiwa will be examined on Wave Mechanics in measuring the intensity of sound . In order to determine the relevant SLM using a condenser mic as well as determine the level of noise in the sound of different frequencies in the laboratory scale . Tests carried out under conditions of sound intensity soundproof space and sound intensity comparison with SLM industrial design . In this study also compares the design of the SLM SLM Nor- 118 . So that the data obtained is the result of data collection we did the design of the SLM SLM Nor- 118 can be said to be relevant , but there is a difference is a difference of ± 5.0 % . And at a certain frequency when he would decline due to several internal and external factors . The conclusions drawn are in any retrieval of data must be in the soundproof room so that when the data collection is no factor that affects both external and internal.

A description of externally recorded womb sounds in human subjects during gestation.

Science.gov (United States)

Parga, Joanna J; Daland, Robert; Kesavan, Kalpashri; Macey, Paul M; Zeltzer, Lonnie; Harper, Ronald M

2018-01-01

Reducing environmental noise benefits premature infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICU), but excessive reduction may lead to sensory deprivation, compromising development. Instead of minimal noise levels, environments that mimic intrauterine soundscapes may facilitate infant development by providing a sound environment reflecting fetal life. This soundscape may support autonomic and emotional development in preterm infants. We aimed to assess the efficacy and feasibility of external non-invasive recordings in pregnant women, endeavoring to capture intra-abdominal or womb sounds during pregnancy with electronic stethoscopes and build a womb sound library to assess sound trends with gestational development. We also compared these sounds to popular commercial womb sounds marketed to new parents. Intra-abdominal sounds from 50 mothers in their second and third trimester (13 to 40 weeks) of pregnancy were recorded for 6 minutes in a quiet clinic room with 4 electronic stethoscopes, placed in the right upper and lower quadrants, and left upper and lower quadrants of the abdomen. These recording were partitioned into 2-minute intervals in three different positions: standing, sitting and lying supine. Maternal and gestational age, Body Mass Index (BMI) and time since last meal were collected during recordings. Recordings were analyzed using long-term average spectral and waveform analysis, and compared to sounds from non-pregnant abdomens and commercially-marketed womb sounds selected for their availability, popularity, and claims they mimic the intrauterine environment. Maternal sounds shared certain common characteristics, but varied with gestational age. With fetal development, the maternal abdomen filtered high (500-5,000 Hz) and mid-frequency (100-500 Hz) energy bands, but no change appeared in contributions from low-frequency signals (10-100 Hz) with gestational age. Variation appeared between mothers, suggesting a resonant chamber role for intra

Loudness Change in Response to Dynamic Acoustic Intensity

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Kirk N.; Stevens, Catherine J.; Tardieu, Julien

2010-01-01

Three experiments investigate psychological, methodological, and domain-specific characteristics of loudness change in response to sounds that continuously increase in intensity (up-ramps), relative to sounds that decrease (down-ramps). Timbre (vowel, violin), layer (monotone, chord), and duration (1.8 s, 3.6 s) were manipulated in Experiment 1.…

Near-field acoustic holography with sound pressure and particle velocity measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fernandez Grande, Efren

of the particle velocity has notable potential in NAH, and furthermore, combined measurement of sound pressure and particle velocity opens a new range of possibilities that are examined in this study. On this basis, sound field separation methods have been studied, and a new measurement principle based on double...... layer measurements of the particle velocity has been proposed. Also, the relation between near-field and far-field radiation from sound sources has been examined using the concept of the supersonic intensity. The calculation of this quantity has been extended to other holographic methods, and studied...

Operational monitoring of acoustic sensor networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boltenkov V.A.

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Acoustic sensor networks (ASN are widely used to monitor water leaks in the power generating systems. Since the ASN are used in harsh climatic conditions the failures of microphone elements of ASN are inevitable. That's why the failure detection of ASN elements is a problem of current interest. Two techniques of operational monitoring ASN are developed. Both of them are based on the placement of the test sound source within a network. The signal processing for ASN sensors had to detect the failed element. Techniques are based time difference of arrival (TDOA estimating at the each pair of ASN elements. TDOA estimates as argmaximum of cross-correlation function (CCF for signals on each microphone sensors pair. The M-sequence phase-shift keyed signal is applied as a test acoustic signal to ensure high accuracy of the CCF maximum estimation at low signal/noise ratio (SNR. The first technique is based on the isolation principle for TDOA sum at three points. It require to locate the test sound source in the far field. This is not always possible due to technological reasons. For the second proposed technique test sound source can be located near the ASN. It is based on a system of hyperbolic equations solving for each of the four elements of the ASN. Both techniques has been tested in the computer imitation experiment. It was found that for the SNR to –5 dB both techniques show unmistakable indicators of control quality. The second method requires significantly more time control.

Sound

CERN Document Server

Robertson, William C

2003-01-01

Muddled about what makes music? Stuck on the study of harmonics? Dumbfounded by how sound gets around? Now you no longer have to struggle to teach concepts you really don t grasp yourself. Sound takes an intentionally light touch to help out all those adults science teachers, parents wanting to help with homework, home-schoolers seeking necessary scientific background to teach middle school physics with confidence. The book introduces sound waves and uses that model to explain sound-related occurrences. Starting with the basics of what causes sound and how it travels, you'll learn how musical instruments work, how sound waves add and subtract, how the human ear works, and even why you can sound like a Munchkin when you inhale helium. Sound is the fourth book in the award-winning Stop Faking It! Series, published by NSTA Press. Like the other popular volumes, it is written by irreverent educator Bill Robertson, who offers this Sound recommendation: One of the coolest activities is whacking a spinning metal rod...

Active control of radiated sound power from a baffled, rectangular panel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mørkholt, Jakob

1996-01-01

with an array of eleven microphones in front of the panel, is very close to minimising the actual radiated sound power. Practical experiments where such an array estimate has been minimised using the filtered X LMS algorithm have shown that substantial reductions of radiated sound power can be obtained over......Active control of radiated sound power from a rectangular baffled panel by minimisation of an accurate power estimate, using piezoceramic actuators, has been investigated. Computer simulations have shown that minimising a power estimate obtained by discretised integration of the far field intensity...... a broad frequency range using few piezoceramic actuators, provided that an accurate estimate of the sound power is available for minimisation....

Dementias show differential physiological responses to salient sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, Phillip D; Nicholas, Jennifer M; Shakespeare, Timothy J; Downey, Laura E; Golden, Hannah L; Agustus, Jennifer L; Clark, Camilla N; Mummery, Catherine J; Schott, Jonathan M; Crutch, Sebastian J; Warren, Jason D

2015-01-01

Abnormal responsiveness to salient sensory signals is often a prominent feature of dementia diseases, particularly the frontotemporal lobar degenerations, but has been little studied. Here we assessed processing of one important class of salient signals, looming sounds, in canonical dementia syndromes. We manipulated tones using intensity cues to create percepts of salient approaching ("looming") or less salient withdrawing sounds. Pupil dilatation responses and behavioral rating responses to these stimuli were compared in patients fulfilling consensus criteria for dementia syndromes (semantic dementia, n = 10; behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, n = 16, progressive nonfluent aphasia, n = 12; amnestic Alzheimer's disease, n = 10) and a cohort of 26 healthy age-matched individuals. Approaching sounds were rated as more salient than withdrawing sounds by healthy older individuals but this behavioral response to salience did not differentiate healthy individuals from patients with dementia syndromes. Pupil responses to approaching sounds were greater than responses to withdrawing sounds in healthy older individuals and in patients with semantic dementia: this differential pupil response was reduced in patients with progressive nonfluent aphasia and Alzheimer's disease relative both to the healthy control and semantic dementia groups, and did not correlate with nonverbal auditory semantic function. Autonomic responses to auditory salience are differentially affected by dementias and may constitute a novel biomarker of these diseases.

Intensive time series data exploitation: the Multi-sensor Evolution Analysis (MEA) platform

Science.gov (United States)

Mantovani, Simone; Natali, Stefano; Folegani, Marco; Scremin, Alessandro

2014-05-01

The monitoring of the temporal evolution of natural phenomena must be performed in order to ensure their correct description and to allow improvements in modelling and forecast capabilities. This assumption, that is obvious for ground-based measurements, has not always been true for data collected through space-based platforms: except for geostationary satellites and sensors, that allow providing a very effective monitoring of phenomena with geometric scale from regional to global; smaller phenomena (with characteristic dimension lower than few kilometres) have been monitored with instruments that could collect data only with a time interval in the order of several days; bi-temporal techniques have been the most used ones for years, in order to characterise temporal changes and try identifying specific phenomena. The more the number of flying sensor has grown and their performance improved, the more their capability of monitoring natural phenomena at a smaller geographic scale has grown: we can now count on tenth of years of remotely sensed data, collected by hundreds of sensors that are now accessible from a wide users' community, and the techniques for data processing have to be adapted to move toward a data intensive exploitation. Starting from 2008, the European Space Agency has initiated the development of the Multi-sensor Evolution Analysis (MEA) platform (https://mea.eo.esa.int), whose first aim was to permit the access and exploitation of long term remotely sensed satellite data from different platforms: 15 years of global (A)ATSR data together with 5 years of regional AVNIR-2 data were loaded into the system and were used, through a web-based graphic user interface, for land cover change analysis. The MEA data availability has grown during years integrating multi-disciplinary data that feature spatial and temporal dimensions: so far tenths of Terabytes of data in the land and atmosphere domains are available and can be visualized and exploited, keeping the

A soundscape study: What kinds of sounds can elderly people affected by dementia recollect?

Science.gov (United States)

Nagahata, K; Fukushima, T; Ishibashi, N; Takahashi, Y; Moriyama, M

2004-01-01

In this study, the kinds of sounds recollected by elderly people with dementia were investigated as a first step towards improving their sound environment. Onomatopoeias were presented to elderly people as keys to recollecting sounds, and they told what they imagined from each onomatopoeia. The results are summarized as follows. (1) Generally speaking, sounds from nature, such as the songs of birds and the sound of rain were recollected easily from onomatopoeias, regardless of gender. (2) Sounds of kitchen work were recollected by women only. (3) Sounds from old routines were recollected clearly. (4) Sounds that elicited feelings of nostalgia were also recollected intensely from onomatopoeias. These results show that elderly people suffering from dementia are able to recollect the sounds that had once occupied very important parts of their lives. However, these sounds in themselves are not unusual sounds in their daily lives. This suggests the importance of soundscape design in daily life.

Acoustic calibration apparatus for calibrating plethysmographic acoustic pressure sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Zuckerwar, Allan J. (Inventor); Davis, David C. (Inventor)

1995-01-01

An apparatus for calibrating an acoustic sensor is described. The apparatus includes a transmission material having an acoustic impedance approximately matching the acoustic impedance of the actual acoustic medium existing when the acoustic sensor is applied in actual in-service conditions. An elastic container holds the transmission material. A first sensor is coupled to the container at a first location on the container and a second sensor coupled to the container at a second location on the container, the second location being different from the first location. A sound producing device is coupled to the container and transmits acoustic signals inside the container.

Sound source location in cavitating tip vortices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Higuchi, H.; Taghavi, R.; Arndt, R.E.A.

1985-01-01

Utilizing an array of three hydrophones, individual cavitation bursts in a tip vortex could be located. Theoretically, four hydrophones are necessary. Hence the data from three hydrophones are supplemented with photographic observation of the cavitating tip vortex. The cavitation sound sources are found to be localized to within one base chord length from the hydrofoil tip. This appears to correspond to the region of initial tip vortex roll-up. A more extensive study with a four sensor array is now in progress

High frequency ion sound waves associated with Langmuir waves in type III radio burst source regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Thejappa

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Short wavelength ion sound waves (2-4kHz are detected in association with the Langmuir waves (~15-30kHz in the source regions of several local type III radio bursts. They are most probably not due to any resonant wave-wave interactions such as the electrostatic decay instability because their wavelengths are much shorter than those of Langmuir waves. The Langmuir waves occur as coherent field structures with peak intensities exceeding the Langmuir collapse thresholds. Their scale sizes are of the order of the wavelength of an ion sound wave. These Langmuir wave field characteristics indicate that the observed short wavelength ion sound waves are most probably generated during the thermalization of the burnt-out cavitons left behind by the Langmuir collapse. Moreover, the peak intensities of the observed short wavelength ion sound waves are comparable to the expected intensities of those ion sound waves radiated by the burnt-out cavitons. However, the speeds of the electron beams derived from the frequency drift of type III radio bursts are too slow to satisfy the needed adiabatic ion approximation. Therefore, some non-linear process such as the induced scattering on thermal ions most probably pumps the beam excited Langmuir waves towards the lower wavenumbers, where the adiabatic ion approximation is justified.

Simultaneous tuning of electric field intensity and structural properties of ZnO: Graphene nanostructures for FOSPR based nicotine sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabassum, Rana; Gupta, Banshi D

2017-05-15

We report theoretical and experimental realization of a SPR based fiber optic nicotine sensor having coatings of silver and graphene doped ZnO nanostructure onto the unclad core of the optical fiber. The volume fraction (f) of graphene in ZnO was optimized using simulation of electric field intensity. Four types of graphene doped ZnO nanostructures viz. nanocomposites, nanoflowers, nanotubes and nanofibers were prepared using optimized value of f. The morphology, photoluminescence (PL) spectra and UV-vis spectra of these nanostructures were studied. The peak PL intensity was found to be highest for ZnO: graphene nanofibers. The optimized value of f in ZnO: graphene nanofiber was reconfirmed using UV-vis spectroscopy. The experiments were performed on the fiber optic probe fabricated with Ag/ZnO: graphene layer and optimized parameters for in-situ detection of nicotine. The interaction of nicotine with ZnO: graphene nanostructures alters the dielectric function of ZnO: graphene nanostructure which is manifested in terms of shift in resonance wavelength. From the sensing signal, the performance parameters were measured including sensitivity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), stability, repeatability and selectivity. The real sample prepared using cigarette tobacco leaves and analyzed using the fabricated sensor makes it suitable for practical applications. The achieved values of LOD and LOQ are found to be unrivalled in comparison to the reported ones. The sensor possesses additional advantages such as, immunity to electromagnetic interference, low cost, capability of online monitoring, remote sensing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Method of Estimating Pressure and Intensity Distributions of Multielement Phased Array High Intensity Focused Ultrasonic Field at Full Power Using a Needle Hydrophone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Ying; Shen Guofeng; Bai Jingfeng; Chen Yazhu

2011-01-01

The pressure and intensity distribution of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) fields at full power are critical for predicting heating patterns and ensuring safety of the therapy. With the limitations of maximum pressure at the hydrophone and damage from cavitation or thermal effects, it is hard to measure pressure and intensity directly when HIFU is at full power. HIFU-phased arrays are usually composed of large numbers of small elements and the sound power radiated from some of them at full power is measureable using a hydrophone, we grouped them based on the limitation of maximum permissible pressure at the hydrophone and the characteristics of the element arrangement in the array. Then sound field measurement of the group was carried out at full power level. Using the acoustic coherence principle, the pressure and intensity distribution of the array at full power level can be calculated from corresponding values from the groups. With this method, computer simulations and sound field measurement of a 65-element concentric distributed phased array was carried out. The simulation results demonstrate theoretically the feasibility of this method. Measurements on the 65-element phased array also verify the effectiveness of this method for estimating the pressure and intensity distribution of phased array at full power level using a needle hydrophone.

A Review of Various Security Protocols in Wireless Sensor Network

OpenAIRE

Anupma Sangwan; Deepti Sindhu; Kulbir Singh

2011-01-01

Sensor networks are highly distributed networks of small, lightweight wireless sensor nodes, deployed in large numbers to monitor the environment or system by the measurement of physical parameters such as temperature, pressure, or relative humidity, sound, vibration, motion or pollutants, at different locations. A WSN [1] is composed of a large number of low-cost sensor nodes (SNs) and one or several base stations (BS) or destination nodes. SNs are typically small wireless devices with limit...

Sources of underwater sound and their characterisation (abstract)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ainslie, M.A.; Jong, C.A.F. de

2013-01-01

After centuries of speculation, punctuated by occasional theoretical or experimental advances, the first intensive research into underwater sound took place 100 years ago, applied initially to provide advance warning of icebergs after the loss of RMS Titanic in 1912, and later to counter the U-boat

Impact of reduction of tinnitus intensity on patients' quality of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Drexler, Daniel; López-Paullier, Matías; Rodio, Silvana; González, Manuela; Geisinger, Darío; Pedemonte, Marisa

2016-01-01

Assess the impact of a reduction of tinnitus intensity achieved through sound stimulation during sleep on the improvement in the patients' quality of life. Acoustic stimuli consisted of a highly customized sound that reproduced the spectral and intensity characteristics of the tinnitus in each patient. This stimulus was uploaded into a portable electronic device and delivered through customized ear buds during sleep, every night for three months. Twelve patients with subjective idiopathic chronic tinnitus were studied. Results were assessed through: (1) the measurement in dB SPL of tinnitus intensity reduction over time; (2) the results of three psychometric tests: Tinnitus handicap inventory (THI), Tinnitus reaction questionnaire (TRQ), Tinnitus functional index (TFI); and (3) a Visual analog scale (VAS) for tinnitus annoyance. After three months of treatment, we observed an average decrease in tinnitus intensity of 14.1 dB SPL (p < 0.001), implying a 62% reduction of the perceived sound. This improvement was followed by a statistically significant decrease of TRQ (78%), THI (65%), and TFI (77%). These results suggested that the intensity reduction achieved through the protocol used in this study had a direct impact on the improvement in the patients' quality of life.

Sound radiation contrast in MR phase images. Method for the representation of elasticity, sound damping, and sound impedance changes; Schallstrahlungskontrast in MR-Phasenbildern. Methode zur Darstellung von Elastizitaets-, Schalldaempfungs- und Schallimpedanzaenderungen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radicke, Marcus

2009-12-18

The method presented in this thesis combines ultrasound techniques with the magnetic-resonance tomography (MRT). An ultrasonic wave generates in absorbing media a static force in sound-propagation direction. The force leads at sound intensities of some W/cm{sup 2} and a sound frequency in the lower MHz range to a tissue shift in the micrometer range. This tissue shift depends on the sound power, the sound frequency, the sound absorption, and the elastic properties of the tissue. A MRT sequence of the Siemens Healthcare AG was modified so that it measures (indirectly) the tissue shift, codes as grey values, and presents as 2D picture. By means of the grey values the sound-beam slope in the tissue can be visualized, and so additionally sound obstacles (changes of the sound impedance) can be detected. By the MRT images token up spatial changes of the tissue parameters sound absorption and elasticity can be detected. In this thesis measurements are presented, which show the feasibility and future chances of this method especially for the mammary-cancer diagnostics. [German] Die in dieser Arbeit praesentierte Methode kombiniert Ultraschalltechniken mit der Magnetresonanztomographie (MRT). Eine Ultraschallwelle ruft in absorbierenden Medien eine statische Kraft in Schallausbreitungsrichtung hervor. Die Kraft fuehrt bei Schallintensitaeten von einigen W/cm{sup 2} und einer Schallfrequenz im niederen MHz-Bereich zu einer Gewebeverschiebung im Mikrometerbereich. Diese Gewebeverschiebung haengt ab von der Schallleistung, der Schallfrequenz, der Schallabsorption und den elastischen Eigenschaften des Gewebes. Es wurde eine MRT-Sequenz der Siemens Healthcare AG modifiziert, so dass sie (indirekt) die Gewebeverschiebung misst, als Grauwerte kodiert und als 2D-Bild darstellt. Anhand der Grauwerte kann der Schallstrahlverlauf in dem Gewebe visualisiert werden, und so koennen zusaetzlich Schallhindernisse (Aenderungen der Schallkennimpedanz) aufgespuert werden. Mit den

Learning about the Dynamic Sun through Sounds

Science.gov (United States)

Quinn, M.; Peticolas, L. M.; Luhmann, J.; MacCallum, J.

2008-06-01

Can we hear the Sun or its solar wind? Not in the sense that they make sound. But we can take the particle, magnetic field, electric field, and image data and turn it into sound to demonstrate what the data tells us. We present work on turning data from the two-satellite NASA mission called STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) into sounds and music (sonification). STEREO has two satellites orbiting the Sun near Earth's orbit to study the coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the Corona. One sonification project aims to inspire musicians, museum patrons, and the public to learn more about CMEs by downloading STEREO data and using it to make music. We demonstrate the software and discuss the way in which it was developed. A second project aims to produce a museum exhibit using STEREO imagery and sounds from STEREO data. We demonstrate a "walk across the Sun" created for this exhibit so people can hear the features on solar images. We show how pixel intensity translates into pitches from selectable scales with selectable musical scale size and octave locations. We also share our successes and lessons learned.

Dementias show differential physiological responses to salient sounds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Phillip David Fletcher

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Abnormal responsiveness to salient sensory signals is often a prominent feature of dementia diseases, particularly the frontotemporal lobar degenerations, but has been little studied. Here we assessed processing of one important class of salient signals, looming sounds, in canonical dementia syndromes. We manipulated tones using intensity cues to create percepts of salient approaching (‘looming’ or less salient withdrawing sounds. Pupil dilatation responses and behavioural rating responses to these stimuli were compared in patients fulfilling consensus criteria for dementia syndromes (semantic dementia, n=10; behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, n=16, progressive non-fluent aphasia, n=12; amnestic Alzheimer’s disease, n=10 and a cohort of 26 healthy age-matched individuals. Approaching sounds were rated as more salient than withdrawing sounds by healthy older individuals but this behavioural response to salience did not differentiate healthy individuals from patients with dementia syndromes. Pupil responses to approaching sounds were greater than responses to withdrawing sounds in healthy older individuals and in patients with semantic dementia: this differential pupil response was reduced in patients with progressive nonfluent aphasia and Alzheimer’s disease relative both to the healthy control and semantic dementia groups, and did not correlate with nonverbal auditory semantic function. Autonomic responses to auditory salience are differentially affected by dementias and may constitute a novel biomarker of these diseases.

Dementias show differential physiological responses to salient sounds

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, Phillip D.; Nicholas, Jennifer M.; Shakespeare, Timothy J.; Downey, Laura E.; Golden, Hannah L.; Agustus, Jennifer L.; Clark, Camilla N.; Mummery, Catherine J.; Schott, Jonathan M.; Crutch, Sebastian J.; Warren, Jason D.

2015-01-01

Abnormal responsiveness to salient sensory signals is often a prominent feature of dementia diseases, particularly the frontotemporal lobar degenerations, but has been little studied. Here we assessed processing of one important class of salient signals, looming sounds, in canonical dementia syndromes. We manipulated tones using intensity cues to create percepts of salient approaching (“looming”) or less salient withdrawing sounds. Pupil dilatation responses and behavioral rating responses to these stimuli were compared in patients fulfilling consensus criteria for dementia syndromes (semantic dementia, n = 10; behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, n = 16, progressive nonfluent aphasia, n = 12; amnestic Alzheimer's disease, n = 10) and a cohort of 26 healthy age-matched individuals. Approaching sounds were rated as more salient than withdrawing sounds by healthy older individuals but this behavioral response to salience did not differentiate healthy individuals from patients with dementia syndromes. Pupil responses to approaching sounds were greater than responses to withdrawing sounds in healthy older individuals and in patients with semantic dementia: this differential pupil response was reduced in patients with progressive nonfluent aphasia and Alzheimer's disease relative both to the healthy control and semantic dementia groups, and did not correlate with nonverbal auditory semantic function. Autonomic responses to auditory salience are differentially affected by dementias and may constitute a novel biomarker of these diseases. PMID:25859194

Artificial neural networks for breathing and snoring episode detection in sleep sounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emoto, Takahiro; Akutagawa, Masatake; Kinouchi, Yohsuke; Abeyratne, Udantha R; Chen, Yongjian; Kawata, Ikuji

2012-01-01

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a serious disorder characterized by intermittent events of upper airway collapse during sleep. Snoring is the most common nocturnal symptom of OSA. Almost all OSA patients snore, but not all snorers have the disease. Recently, researchers have attempted to develop automated snore analysis technology for the purpose of OSA diagnosis. These technologies commonly require, as the first step, the automated identification of snore/breathing episodes (SBE) in sleep sound recordings. Snore intensity may occupy a wide dynamic range (>95 dB) spanning from the barely audible to loud sounds. Low-intensity SBE sounds are sometimes seen buried within the background noise floor, even in high-fidelity sound recordings made within a sleep laboratory. The complexity of SBE sounds makes it a challenging task to develop automated snore segmentation algorithms, especially in the presence of background noise. In this paper, we propose a fundamentally novel approach based on artificial neural network (ANN) technology to detect SBEs. Working on clinical data, we show that the proposed method can detect SBE at a sensitivity and specificity exceeding 0.892 and 0.874 respectively, even when the signal is completely buried in background noise (SNR <0 dB). We compare the performance of the proposed technology with those of the existing methods (short-term energy, zero-crossing rates) and illustrate that the proposed method vastly outperforms conventional techniques. (paper)

3D Room Visualization on Android Based Mobile Device (with Philips™’ Surround Sound Music Player

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Durio Etgar

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This project’s specifically purposed as a demo application, so anyone can get the experience of a surround audio room without having to physically involved to it, with a main idea of generating a 3D surround sound room scenery coupled with surround sound in a handier package, namely, a “Virtual Listen Room”. Virtual Listen Room set a foundation of an innovative visualization that later will be developed and released as one of way of portable advertisement. This application was built inside of Android environment. Android device had been chosen as the implementation target, since it leaves massive development spaces and mostly contains essential components needed on this project, including graphic processor unit (GPU. Graphic manipulation can be done using an embedded programming interface called OpenGL ES, which is planted in all Android devices generally. Further, Android has a Accelerometer Sensor that is needed to be coupled with scene to produce a dynamic movement of the camera. Surround sound effect can be reached with a decoder from Phillips called MPEG Surround Sound Decoder. To sum the whole project, we got an application with sensor-dynamic 3D room visualization coupled with Philips’ Surround Sound Music Player. We can manipulate several room’s properties; Subwoofer location, Room light, and how many speakers inside it, the application itself works well despite facing several performance problems before, later to be solved.

Prospective cohort study on noise levels in a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia Guerra, Gonzalo; Joffe, Ari R; Sheppard, Cathy; Pugh, Jodie; Moez, Elham Khodayari; Dinu, Irina A; Jou, Hsing; Hartling, Lisa; Vohra, Sunita

2018-04-01

To describe noise levels in a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit, and to determine the relationship between sound levels and patient sedation requirements. Prospective observational study at a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (PCICU). Sound levels were measured continuously in slow A weighted decibels dB(A) with a sound level meter SoundEarPro® during a 4-week period. Sedation requirement was assessed using the number of intermittent (PRNs) doses given per hour. Analysis was conducted with autoregressive moving average models and the Granger test for causality. 39 children were included in the study. The average (SD) sound level in the open area was 59.4 (2.5) dB(A) with a statistically significant but clinically unimportant difference between day/night hours (60.1 vs. 58.6; p-value noise levels were > 90 dB. There was a significant association between average (p-value = 0.030) and peak sound levels (p-value = 0.006), and number of sedation PRNs. Sound levels were above the recommended values with no differences between day/night or open area/single room. High sound levels were significantly associated with sedation requirements. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An open access database for the evaluation of heart sound algorithms.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chengyu; Springer, David; Li, Qiao; Moody, Benjamin; Juan, Ricardo Abad; Chorro, Francisco J; Castells, Francisco; Roig, José Millet; Silva, Ikaro; Johnson, Alistair E W; Syed, Zeeshan; Schmidt, Samuel E; Papadaniil, Chrysa D; Hadjileontiadis, Leontios; Naseri, Hosein; Moukadem, Ali; Dieterlen, Alain; Brandt, Christian; Tang, Hong; Samieinasab, Maryam; Samieinasab, Mohammad Reza; Sameni, Reza; Mark, Roger G; Clifford, Gari D

2016-12-01

In the past few decades, analysis of heart sound signals (i.e. the phonocardiogram or PCG), especially for automated heart sound segmentation and classification, has been widely studied and has been reported to have the potential value to detect pathology accurately in clinical applications. However, comparative analyses of algorithms in the literature have been hindered by the lack of high-quality, rigorously validated, and standardized open databases of heart sound recordings. This paper describes a public heart sound database, assembled for an international competition, the PhysioNet/Computing in Cardiology (CinC) Challenge 2016. The archive comprises nine different heart sound databases sourced from multiple research groups around the world. It includes 2435 heart sound recordings in total collected from 1297 healthy subjects and patients with a variety of conditions, including heart valve disease and coronary artery disease. The recordings were collected from a variety of clinical or nonclinical (such as in-home visits) environments and equipment. The length of recording varied from several seconds to several minutes. This article reports detailed information about the subjects/patients including demographics (number, age, gender), recordings (number, location, state and time length), associated synchronously recorded signals, sampling frequency and sensor type used. We also provide a brief summary of the commonly used heart sound segmentation and classification methods, including open source code provided concurrently for the Challenge. A description of the PhysioNet/CinC Challenge 2016, including the main aims, the training and test sets, the hand corrected annotations for different heart sound states, the scoring mechanism, and associated open source code are provided. In addition, several potential benefits from the public heart sound database are discussed.

Sound algorithms

OpenAIRE

De Götzen , Amalia; Mion , Luca; Tache , Olivier

2007-01-01

International audience; We call sound algorithms the categories of algorithms that deal with digital sound signal. Sound algorithms appeared in the very infancy of computer. Sound algorithms present strong specificities that are the consequence of two dual considerations: the properties of the digital sound signal itself and its uses, and the properties of auditory perception.

Auditory Attentional Capture: Effects of Singleton Distractor Sounds

Science.gov (United States)

Dalton, Polly; Lavie, Nilli

2004-01-01

The phenomenon of attentional capture by a unique yet irrelevant singleton distractor has typically been studied in visual search. In this article, the authors examine whether a similar phenomenon occurs in the auditory domain. Participants searched sequences of sounds for targets defined by frequency, intensity, or duration. The presence of a…

A comparison between swallowing sounds and vibrations in patients with dysphagia

Science.gov (United States)

Movahedi, Faezeh; Kurosu, Atsuko; Coyle, James L.; Perera, Subashan

2017-01-01

The cervical auscultation refers to the observation and analysis of sounds or vibrations captured during swallowing using either a stethoscope or acoustic/vibratory detectors. Microphones and accelerometers have recently become two common sensors used in modern cervical auscultation methods. There are open questions about whether swallowing signals recorded by these two sensors provide unique or complementary information about swallowing function; or whether they present interchangeable information. The aim of this study is to present a broad comparison of swallowing signals recorded by a microphone and a tri-axial accelerometer from 72 patients (mean age 63.94 ± 12.58 years, 42 male, 30 female), who underwent videofluoroscopic examination. The participants swallowed one or more boluses of thickened liquids of different consistencies, including thin liquids, nectar-thick liquids, and pudding. A comfortable self-selected volume from a cup or a controlled volume by the examiner from a 5ml spoon was given to the participants. A comprehensive set of features was extracted in time, information-theoretic, and frequency domains from each of 881 swallows presented in this study. The swallowing sounds exhibited significantly higher frequency content and kurtosis values than the swallowing vibrations. In addition, the Lempel-Ziv complexity was lower for swallowing sounds than those for swallowing vibrations. To conclude, information provided by microphones and accelerometers about swallowing function are unique and these two transducers are not interchangeable. Consequently, the selection of transducer would be a vital step in future studies. PMID:28495001

46 CFR 7.20 - Nantucket Sound, Vineyard Sound, Buzzards Bay, Narragansett Bay, MA, Block Island Sound and...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Nantucket Sound, Vineyard Sound, Buzzards Bay, Narragansett Bay, MA, Block Island Sound and easterly entrance to Long Island Sound, NY. 7.20 Section 7.20... Atlantic Coast § 7.20 Nantucket Sound, Vineyard Sound, Buzzards Bay, Narragansett Bay, MA, Block Island...

Digital sound de-localisation as a game mechanic for novel bodily play

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tiab, John; Rantakari, Juho; Halse, Mads Laurberg

2016-01-01

This paper describes an exertion gameplay mechanic involving player's partial control of their opponent's sound localization abilities. We developed this concept through designing and testing "The Boy and The Wolf" game. In this game, we combined deprivation of sight with a positional disparity...... between player bodily movement and sound. This facilitated intense gameplay supporting player creativity and spectator engagement. We use our observations and analysis of our game to offer a set of lessons learnt for designing engaging bodily play using disparity between sound and movement. Moreover, we...... describe our intended future explorations of this area....

Study on Water Distribution Imaging in the Sand Using Propagation Velocity of Sound with Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer

Science.gov (United States)

Sugimoto, Tsuneyoshi; Nakagawa, Yutaka; Shirakawa, Takashi; Sano, Motoaki; Ohaba, Motoyoshi; Shibusawa, Sakae

2013-07-01

We propose a method for the monitoring and imaging of the water distribution in the rooting zone of plants using sound vibration. In this study, the water distribution measurement in the horizontal and vertical directions in the soil layer was examined to confirm whether a temporal change in the volume water content of the soil could be estimated from a temporal changes in propagation velocity. A scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (SLDV) is used for measurement of the vibration velocity of the soil surface, because the highly precise vibration velocity measurement of several many points can be carried out automatically. Sand with a uniform particle size distribution is used for the soil, as it has high plasticity; that is, the sand can return to a dry state easily even if it is soaked with water. A giant magnetostriction vibrator or a flat speaker is used as a sound source. Also, a soil moisture sensor, which measures the water content of the soil using the electric permittivity, is installed in the sand. From the experimental results of the vibration measurement and soil moisture sensors, we can confirm that the temporal changes of the water distribution in sand using the negative pressure irrigation system in both the horizontal and vertical directions can be estimated using the propagation velocity of sound. Therefore, in the future, we plan to develop an insertion-type sound source and receiver using the acceleration sensors, and we intend to examine whether our method can be applied even in commercial soil with growing plants.

All-optical pressure sensor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2014-01-01

The present invention relates to an all-optical pressure sensor comprising a waveguide accommodating a distributed Bragg reflector. Pressure sensing can then be provided by utilizing effective index modulation of the waveguide and detection of a wavelength shift of light reflected from the Bragg...... reflector. Sound sensing may also be provided thereby having an all-optical microphone. One embodiment of the invention relates to an optical pressure sensor comprising at least one outer membrane and a waveguide, the waveguide comprising at least one core for confining and guiding light,at least one...... distributed Bragg reflector located in said at least one core, and at least one inner deflecting element forming at least a part of the core,wherein the pressure sensor is configured such that the geometry and/or dimension of the at least one core is changed when the at least one outer membrane is submitted...

A study of methods of prediction and measurement of the transmission of sound through the walls of light aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Forssen, B.; Wang, Y. S.; Raju, P. K.; Crocker, M. J.

1981-08-01

The acoustic intensity technique was applied to the sound transmission loss of panel structures (single, composite, and stiffened). A theoretical model of sound transmission through a cylindrical shell is presented.

Robust Sounds of Activities of Daily Living Classification in Two-Channel Audio-Based Telemonitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Maunder

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Despite recent advances in the area of home telemonitoring, the challenge of automatically detecting the sound signatures of activities of daily living of an elderly patient using nonintrusive and reliable methods remains. This paper investigates the classification of eight typical sounds of daily life from arbitrarily positioned two-microphone sensors under realistic noisy conditions. In particular, the role of several source separation and sound activity detection methods is considered. Evaluations on a new four-microphone database collected under four realistic noise conditions reveal that effective sound activity detection can produce significant gains in classification accuracy and that further gains can be made using source separation methods based on independent component analysis. Encouragingly, the results show that recognition accuracies in the range 70%–100% can be consistently obtained using different microphone-pair positions, under all but the most severe noise conditions.

Persistent Thalamic Sound Processing Despite Profound Cochlear Denervation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna R. Chambers

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Neurons at higher stages of sensory processing can partially compensate for a sudden drop in input from the periphery through a homeostatic plasticity process that increases the gain on weak afferent inputs. Even after a profound unilateral auditory neuropathy where > 95% of synapses between auditory nerve fibers and inner hair cells have been eliminated with ouabain, central gain can restore the cortical processing and perceptual detection of basic sounds delivered to the denervated ear. In this model of profound auditory neuropathy, cortical processing and perception recover despite the absence of an auditory brainstem response (ABR or brainstem acoustic reflexes, and only a partial recovery of sound processing at the level of the inferior colliculus (IC, an auditory midbrain nucleus. In this study, we induced a profound cochlear neuropathy with ouabain and asked whether central gain enabled a compensatory plasticity in the auditory thalamus comparable to the full recovery of function previously observed in the auditory cortex (ACtx, the partial recovery observed in the IC, or something different entirely. Unilateral ouabain treatment in adult mice effectively eliminated the ABR, yet robust sound-evoked activity persisted in a minority of units recorded from the contralateral medial geniculate body (MGB of awake mice. Sound-driven MGB units could decode moderate and high-intensity sounds with accuracies comparable to sham-treated control mice, but low-intensity classification was near chance. Pure tone receptive fields and synchronization to broadband pulse trains also persisted, albeit with significantly reduced quality and precision, respectively. MGB decoding of temporally modulated pulse trains and speech tokens were both greatly impaired in ouabain-treated mice. Taken together, the absence of an ABR belied a persistent auditory processing at the level of the MGB that was likely enabled through increased central gain. Compensatory

An intelligent artificial throat with sound-sensing ability based on laser induced graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Lu-Qi; Tian, He; Liu, Ying; Ju, Zhen-Yi; Pang, Yu; Chen, Yuan-Quan; Wang, Dan-Yang; Tian, Xiang-Guang; Yan, Jun-Chao; Deng, Ning-Qin; Yang, Yi; Ren, Tian-Ling

2017-02-01

Traditional sound sources and sound detectors are usually independent and discrete in the human hearing range. To minimize the device size and integrate it with wearable electronics, there is an urgent requirement of realizing the functional integration of generating and detecting sound in a single device. Here we show an intelligent laser-induced graphene artificial throat, which can not only generate sound but also detect sound in a single device. More importantly, the intelligent artificial throat will significantly assist for the disabled, because the simple throat vibrations such as hum, cough and scream with different intensity or frequency from a mute person can be detected and converted into controllable sounds. Furthermore, the laser-induced graphene artificial throat has the advantage of one-step fabrication, high efficiency, excellent flexibility and low cost, and it will open practical applications in voice control, wearable electronics and many other areas.

Incidence of Ichthyophonus hoferi in Puget Sound fishes and its increase with age of Pacific herring

Science.gov (United States)

Hershberger, P.K.; Stick, K.; Bui, B.; Carroll, C.; Fall, B.; Mork, C.; Perry, J.A.; Sweeney, E.; Wittouck, J.; Winton, J.; Kocan, R.

2002-01-01

A recent decrease in the mean age of adult Pacific herring Clupea pallasi in Puget Sound was associated with a high prevalence of Ichthyophonus hoferi, a protistan parasite that can be highly pathogenic to Pacific herring. In Puget Sound, high intensities of I. hoferiinfection may be maintained in older cohorts of Pacific herring because the prevalence ofI. hoferi increased with age from 12% among juveniles to 58% among the oldest, age-6 and older cohorts. Low intensities of I. hoferi infection in the region may be maintained in alternative fish hosts, such as surf smelt Hypomesus pretiosus, Puget Sound rockfishSebastes emphaeus, Pacific tomcod Microgadus proximus, and speckled sanddabCithanichthys stigmaeus.

Biomimetic flow-sensor arrays based on the filiform hairs on the cerci of crickets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wiegerink, Remco J.; Floris, J.; Jaganatharaja, R.K.; Izadi, N.; Lammerink, Theodorus S.J.; Krijnen, Gijsbertus J.M.

2007-01-01

In this paper we report on the latest developments in biomimetic flow-sensors based on the flow sensitive mechano-sensors of crickets. Crickets have one form of acoustic sensing evolved in the form of mechanoreceptive sensory hairs. These filiform hairs are highly perceptive to low-frequency sound

Digital servo control of random sound test excitation. [in reverberant acoustic chamber

Science.gov (United States)

Nakich, R. B. (Inventor)

1974-01-01

A digital servocontrol system for random noise excitation of a test object in a reverberant acoustic chamber employs a plurality of sensors spaced in the sound field to produce signals in separate channels which are decorrelated and averaged. The average signal is divided into a plurality of adjacent frequency bands cyclically sampled by a time division multiplex system, converted into digital form, and compared to a predetermined spectrum value stored in digital form. The results of the comparisons are used to control a time-shared up-down counter to develop gain control signals for the respective frequency bands in the spectrum of random sound energy picked up by the microphones.

Noise-induced hearing loss induces loudness intolerance in a rat Active Sound Avoidance Paradigm (ASAP).

Science.gov (United States)

Manohar, Senthilvelan; Spoth, Jaclyn; Radziwon, Kelly; Auerbach, Benjamin D; Salvi, Richard

2017-09-01

Hyperacusis is a loudness hypersensitivity disorder in which moderate-intensity sounds are perceived as extremely loud, aversive and/or painful. To assess the aversive nature of sounds, we developed an Active Sound Avoidance Paradigm (ASAP) in which rats altered their place preference in a Light/Dark shuttle box in response to sound. When no sound (NS) was present, rats spent more than 95% of the time in the Dark Box versus the transparent Light Box. However, when a 60 or 90 dB SPL noise (2-20 kHz, 2-8 kHz, or 16-20 kHz bandwidth) was presented in the Dark Box, the rats'' preference for the Dark Box significantly decreased. Percent time in the dark decreased as sound intensity in the Dark Box increased from 60 dB to 90 dB SPL. Interestingly, the magnitude of the decrease was not a monotonic function of intensity for the 16-20 kHz noise and not related to the bandwidth of the 2-20 kHz and 2-8 kHz noise bands, suggesting that sound avoidance is not solely dependent on loudness but the aversive quality of the noise as well. Afterwards, we exposed the rats for 28 days to a 16-20 kHz noise at 102 dB SPL; this exposure produced a 30-40 dB permanent threshold shift at 16 and 32 kHz. Following the noise exposure, the rats were then retested on the ASAP paradigm. High-frequency hearing loss did not alter Dark Box preference in the no-sound condition. However, when the 2-20 kHz or 2-8 kHz noise was presented at 60 or 90 dB SPL, the rats avoided the Dark Box significantly more than they did before the exposure, indicating these two noise bands with energy below the region of hearing loss were perceived as more aversive. In contrast, when the 16-20 kHz noise was presented at 60 or 90 dB SPL, the rats remained in the Dark Box presumably because the high-frequency hearing loss made 16-20 kHz noise less audible and less aversive. These results indicate that when rats develop a high-frequency hearing loss, they become less tolerant of low frequency noise, i

Effects of Freestream Turbulence on Cavity Tone and Sound Source

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroshi Yokoyama

2016-01-01

Full Text Available To clarify the effects of freestream turbulence on cavity tones, flow and acoustic fields were directly predicted for cavity flows with various intensities of freestream turbulence. The freestream Mach number was 0.09 and the Reynolds number based on the cavity length was 4.0 × 104. The depth-to-length ratio of the cavity, D/L, was 0.5 and 2.5, where the acoustic resonance of a depth-mode occurs for D/L = 2.5. The incoming boundary layer was laminar. The results for the intensity of freestream turbulence of Tu = 2.3% revealed that the reduced level of cavity tones in a cavity flow with acoustic resonance (D/L=2.5 was greater than that without acoustic resonance (D/L=0.5. To clarify the reason for this, the sound source based on Lighthill’s acoustic analogy was computed, and the contributions of the intensity and spanwise coherence of the sound source to the reduction of the cavity tone were estimated. As a result, the effects of the reduction of spanwise coherence on the cavity tone were greater in the cavity flow with acoustic resonance than in that without resonance, while the effects of the intensity were comparable for both flows.

Internal tides and deep diel fades in acoustic intensity.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Andrew W; Henyey, Frank S; Andrew, Rex K; Mercer, James A; Worcester, Peter F; Dzieciuch, Matthew A; Colosi, John A

2016-11-01

A mechanism is presented by which the observed acoustic intensity is made to vary due to changes in the acoustic path that are caused by internal-tide vertical fluid displacements. The position in range and depth of large-scale caustic structure is determined by the background sound-speed profile. Internal tides cause a deformation of the background profile, changing the positions of the caustic structures-which can introduce intensity changes at a distant receiver. Gradual fades in the acoustic intensity occurring over timescales similar to those of the tides were measured during a low-frequency (284-Hz) acoustic scattering experiment in the Philippine Sea in 2009 [White et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 134(4), 3347-3358 (2013)]. Parabolic equation and Hamiltonian ray-tracing calculations of acoustic propagation through a plane-wave internal tide environmental model employing sound-speed profiles taken during the experiment indicate that internal tides could cause significant gradual changes in the received intensity. Furthermore, the calculations demonstrate how large-scale perturbations to the index of refraction can result in variation in the received intensity.

Automatic adventitious respiratory sound analysis: A systematic review.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renard Xaviero Adhi Pramono

Full Text Available Automatic detection or classification of adventitious sounds is useful to assist physicians in diagnosing or monitoring diseases such as asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD, and pneumonia. While computerised respiratory sound analysis, specifically for the detection or classification of adventitious sounds, has recently been the focus of an increasing number of studies, a standardised approach and comparison has not been well established.To provide a review of existing algorithms for the detection or classification of adventitious respiratory sounds. This systematic review provides a complete summary of methods used in the literature to give a baseline for future works.A systematic review of English articles published between 1938 and 2016, searched using the Scopus (1938-2016 and IEEExplore (1984-2016 databases. Additional articles were further obtained by references listed in the articles found. Search terms included adventitious sound detection, adventitious sound classification, abnormal respiratory sound detection, abnormal respiratory sound classification, wheeze detection, wheeze classification, crackle detection, crackle classification, rhonchi detection, rhonchi classification, stridor detection, stridor classification, pleural rub detection, pleural rub classification, squawk detection, and squawk classification.Only articles were included that focused on adventitious sound detection or classification, based on respiratory sounds, with performance reported and sufficient information provided to be approximately repeated.Investigators extracted data about the adventitious sound type analysed, approach and level of analysis, instrumentation or data source, location of sensor, amount of data obtained, data management, features, methods, and performance achieved.A total of 77 reports from the literature were included in this review. 55 (71.43% of the studies focused on wheeze, 40 (51.95% on crackle, 9 (11.69% on stridor, 9

Automatic adventitious respiratory sound analysis: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Pramono, Renard Xaviero Adhi; Bowyer, Stuart; Rodriguez-Villegas, Esther

2017-01-01

Automatic detection or classification of adventitious sounds is useful to assist physicians in diagnosing or monitoring diseases such as asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and pneumonia. While computerised respiratory sound analysis, specifically for the detection or classification of adventitious sounds, has recently been the focus of an increasing number of studies, a standardised approach and comparison has not been well established. To provide a review of existing algorithms for the detection or classification of adventitious respiratory sounds. This systematic review provides a complete summary of methods used in the literature to give a baseline for future works. A systematic review of English articles published between 1938 and 2016, searched using the Scopus (1938-2016) and IEEExplore (1984-2016) databases. Additional articles were further obtained by references listed in the articles found. Search terms included adventitious sound detection, adventitious sound classification, abnormal respiratory sound detection, abnormal respiratory sound classification, wheeze detection, wheeze classification, crackle detection, crackle classification, rhonchi detection, rhonchi classification, stridor detection, stridor classification, pleural rub detection, pleural rub classification, squawk detection, and squawk classification. Only articles were included that focused on adventitious sound detection or classification, based on respiratory sounds, with performance reported and sufficient information provided to be approximately repeated. Investigators extracted data about the adventitious sound type analysed, approach and level of analysis, instrumentation or data source, location of sensor, amount of data obtained, data management, features, methods, and performance achieved. A total of 77 reports from the literature were included in this review. 55 (71.43%) of the studies focused on wheeze, 40 (51.95%) on crackle, 9 (11.69%) on stridor, 9 (11

Multifuctional integrated sensors (MFISES).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Homeijer, Brian D. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Roozeboom, Clifton [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-10-01

Many emerging IoT applications require sensing of multiple physical and environmental parameters for: completeness of information, measurement validation, unexpected demands, improved performance. For example, a typical outdoor weather station measures temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, light intensity, rainfall, wind speed and direction. Existing sensor technologies do not directly address the demand for cost, size, and power reduction in multi-paramater sensing applications. Industry sensor manufacturers have developed integrated sensor systems for inertial measurements that combine accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers, but do not address environmental sensing functionality. In existing research literature, a technology gap exists between the functionality of MEMS sensors and the real world applications of the sensors systems.

Audio coding in wireless acoustic sensor networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zahedi, Adel; Østergaard, Jan; Jensen, Søren Holdt

2015-01-01

In this paper, we consider the problem of source coding for a wireless acoustic sensor network where each node in the network makes its own noisy measurement of the sound field, and communicates with other nodes in the network by sending and receiving encoded versions of the measurements. To make...

Effects of anthropogenic sound on digging behavior, metabolism, Ca2+/Mg2+ ATPase activity, and metabolism-related gene expression of the bivalve Sinonovacula constricta

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Chao; Zhao, Xinguo; Liu, Saixi; Shi, Wei; Han, Yu; Guo, Cheng; Jiang, Jingang; Wan, Haibo; Shen, Tiedong; Liu, Guangxu

2016-01-01

Anthropogenic sound has increased significantly in the past decade. However, only a few studies to date have investigated its effects on marine bivalves, with little known about the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms. In the present study, the effects of different types, frequencies, and intensities of anthropogenic sounds on the digging behavior of razor clams (Sinonovacula constricta) were investigated. The results showed that variations in sound intensity induced deeper digging. Furthermore, anthropogenic sound exposure led to an alteration in the O:N ratios and the expression of ten metabolism-related genes from the glycolysis, fatty acid biosynthesis, tryptophan metabolism, and Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle (TCA cycle) pathways. Expression of all genes under investigation was induced upon exposure to anthropogenic sound at ~80 dB re 1 μPa and repressed at ~100 dB re 1 μPa sound. In addition, the activity of Ca2+/Mg2+-ATPase in the feet tissues, which is directly related to muscular contraction and subsequently to digging behavior, was also found to be affected by anthropogenic sound intensity. The findings suggest that sound may be perceived by bivalves as changes in the water particle motion and lead to the subsequent reactions detected in razor clams. PMID:27063002

Effects of anthropogenic sound on digging behavior, metabolism, Ca(2+)/Mg(2+) ATPase activity, and metabolism-related gene expression of the bivalve Sinonovacula constricta.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Chao; Zhao, Xinguo; Liu, Saixi; Shi, Wei; Han, Yu; Guo, Cheng; Jiang, Jingang; Wan, Haibo; Shen, Tiedong; Liu, Guangxu

2016-04-11

Anthropogenic sound has increased significantly in the past decade. However, only a few studies to date have investigated its effects on marine bivalves, with little known about the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms. In the present study, the effects of different types, frequencies, and intensities of anthropogenic sounds on the digging behavior of razor clams (Sinonovacula constricta) were investigated. The results showed that variations in sound intensity induced deeper digging. Furthermore, anthropogenic sound exposure led to an alteration in the O:N ratios and the expression of ten metabolism-related genes from the glycolysis, fatty acid biosynthesis, tryptophan metabolism, and Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle (TCA cycle) pathways. Expression of all genes under investigation was induced upon exposure to anthropogenic sound at ~80 dB re 1 μPa and repressed at ~100 dB re 1 μPa sound. In addition, the activity of Ca(2+)/Mg(2+)-ATPase in the feet tissues, which is directly related to muscular contraction and subsequently to digging behavior, was also found to be affected by anthropogenic sound intensity. The findings suggest that sound may be perceived by bivalves as changes in the water particle motion and lead to the subsequent reactions detected in razor clams.

Effects of anthropogenic sound on digging behavior, metabolism, Ca2+/Mg2+ ATPase activity, and metabolism-related gene expression of the bivalve Sinonovacula constricta

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Chao; Zhao, Xinguo; Liu, Saixi; Shi, Wei; Han, Yu; Guo, Cheng; Jiang, Jingang; Wan, Haibo; Shen, Tiedong; Liu, Guangxu

2016-04-01

Anthropogenic sound has increased significantly in the past decade. However, only a few studies to date have investigated its effects on marine bivalves, with little known about the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms. In the present study, the effects of different types, frequencies, and intensities of anthropogenic sounds on the digging behavior of razor clams (Sinonovacula constricta) were investigated. The results showed that variations in sound intensity induced deeper digging. Furthermore, anthropogenic sound exposure led to an alteration in the O:N ratios and the expression of ten metabolism-related genes from the glycolysis, fatty acid biosynthesis, tryptophan metabolism, and Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle (TCA cycle) pathways. Expression of all genes under investigation was induced upon exposure to anthropogenic sound at ~80 dB re 1 μPa and repressed at ~100 dB re 1 μPa sound. In addition, the activity of Ca2+/Mg2+-ATPase in the feet tissues, which is directly related to muscular contraction and subsequently to digging behavior, was also found to be affected by anthropogenic sound intensity. The findings suggest that sound may be perceived by bivalves as changes in the water particle motion and lead to the subsequent reactions detected in razor clams.

A highly selective molecularly imprinted electrochemiluminescence sensor for ultra-trace beryllium detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Jianping; Ma, Fei; Wei, Xiaoping; Fu, Cong; Pan, Hongcheng

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: A novel molecular imprinted electrochemiluminescence sensor was fabricated for ultra-trace Be 2+ detection with an extremely lower detection limit based on the luminol–H 2 O 2 ECL system. - Highlights: • A novel molecular imprinted electrochemiluminescence sensor was fabricated for ultra-trace Be 2+ detection. • Imprint cavities in the MIPs from elution the Be–PAR complex could provide more recognition sites for analytes. • ECL emission produced by the luminol–H 2 O 2 ECL system, which was applied to detect Be 2+ . • It gave an extremely lower detection limit (2.35 × 10 −11 mol L −1 ) than the reported methods. - Abstract: A new molecularly imprinted electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor was proposed for highly sensitive and selective determination of ultratrace Be 2+ determination. The complex of Be 2+ with 4-(2-pyridylazo)-resorcinol (PAR) was chosen as the template molecule for the molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP). In this assay, the complex molecule could be eluted from the MIP, and the cavities formed could then selectively recognize the complex molecules. The cavities formed could also work as the tunnel for the transfer of probe molecules to produce sound responsive signal. The determination was based on the intensity of the signal, which was proportional to the concentrations of the complex molecule in the sample solution, and the Be 2+ concentration could then be determined indirectly. The results showed that in the range of 7 × 10 −11 mol L −1 to 8.0 × 10 −9 mol L −1 , the ECL intensity had a linear relationship with the Be 2+ concentrations, with the limit of detection of 2.35 × 10 −11 mol L −1 . This method was successfully used to detect Be 2+ in real water samples

Good vibrations: Controlling light with sound (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Eggleton, Benjamin J.; Choudhary, Amol

2016-10-01

One of the surprises of nonlinear optics, is that light may interact strongly with sound. Intense laser light literally "shakes" the glass in optical fibres, exciting acoustic waves (sound) in the fibre. Under the right conditions, it leads to a positive feedback loop between light and sound termed "Stimulated Brillouin Scattering," or simply SBS. This nonlinear interaction can amplify or filter light waves with extreme precision in frequency which makes it uniquely suited to solve key problems in the fields of defence, biomedicine, wireless communications, spectroscopy and imaging. We have achieved the first demonstration of SBS in compact chip-scale structures, carefully designed so that the optical fields and the acoustic fields are simultaneously confined and guided. This new platform has opened a range of new functionalities that are being applied in communications and defence with breathtaking performance and compactness. My talk will introduce this new field and review our progress and achievements, including silicon based optical phononic processor.

Perception of stochastically undersampled sound waveforms: A model of auditory deafferentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enrique A Lopez-Poveda

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Auditory deafferentation, or permanent loss of auditory nerve afferent terminals, occurs after noise overexposure and aging and may accompany many forms of hearing loss. It could cause significant auditory impairment but is undetected by regular clinical tests and so its effects on perception are poorly understood. Here, we hypothesize and test a neural mechanism by which deafferentation could deteriorate perception. The basic idea is that the spike train produced by each auditory afferent resembles a stochastically digitized version of the sound waveform and that the quality of the waveform representation in the whole nerve depends on the number of aggregated spike trains or auditory afferents. We reason that because spikes occur stochastically in time with a higher probability for high- than for low-intensity sounds, more afferents would be required for the nerve to faithfully encode high-frequency or low-intensity waveform features than low-frequency or high-intensity features. Deafferentation would thus degrade the encoding of these features. We further reason that due to the stochastic nature of nerve firing, the degradation would be greater in noise than in quiet. This hypothesis is tested using a vocoder. Sounds were filtered through ten adjacent frequency bands. For the signal in each band, multiple stochastically subsampled copies were obtained to roughly mimic different stochastic representations of that signal conveyed by different auditory afferents innervating a given cochlear region. These copies were then aggregated to obtain an acoustic stimulus. Tone detection and speech identification tests were performed by young, normal-hearing listeners using different numbers of stochastic samplers per frequency band in the vocoder. Results support the hypothesis that stochastic undersampling of the sound waveform, inspired by deafferentation, impairs speech perception in noise more than in quiet, consistent with auditory aging effects.

Perception of stochastically undersampled sound waveforms: a model of auditory deafferentation

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez-Poveda, Enrique A.; Barrios, Pablo

2013-01-01

Auditory deafferentation, or permanent loss of auditory nerve afferent terminals, occurs after noise overexposure and aging and may accompany many forms of hearing loss. It could cause significant auditory impairment but is undetected by regular clinical tests and so its effects on perception are poorly understood. Here, we hypothesize and test a neural mechanism by which deafferentation could deteriorate perception. The basic idea is that the spike train produced by each auditory afferent resembles a stochastically digitized version of the sound waveform and that the quality of the waveform representation in the whole nerve depends on the number of aggregated spike trains or auditory afferents. We reason that because spikes occur stochastically in time with a higher probability for high- than for low-intensity sounds, more afferents would be required for the nerve to faithfully encode high-frequency or low-intensity waveform features than low-frequency or high-intensity features. Deafferentation would thus degrade the encoding of these features. We further reason that due to the stochastic nature of nerve firing, the degradation would be greater in noise than in quiet. This hypothesis is tested using a vocoder. Sounds were filtered through ten adjacent frequency bands. For the signal in each band, multiple stochastically subsampled copies were obtained to roughly mimic different stochastic representations of that signal conveyed by different auditory afferents innervating a given cochlear region. These copies were then aggregated to obtain an acoustic stimulus. Tone detection and speech identification tests were performed by young, normal-hearing listeners using different numbers of stochastic samplers per frequency band in the vocoder. Results support the hypothesis that stochastic undersampling of the sound waveform, inspired by deafferentation, impairs speech perception in noise more than in quiet, consistent with auditory aging effects. PMID:23882176

Micromachined diffraction based optical microphones and intensity probes with electrostatic force feedback

Science.gov (United States)

Bicen, Baris

or enhance the desired vibration modes of the diaphragm. This approach provides an electronic means to tailor the directional response of the microphones, with significant implications in device performance for various applications. As an example, the use of this device as a particle velocity sensor for sound intensity and sound power measurements is investigated. Without force feedback, the gradient microphone provides accurate particle velocity measurement for frequencies below 2 kHz, after which the pressure response of the second order mode becomes significant. With two-sided force feedback, the calculations show that this upper frequency limit may be increased to 10 kHz. This improves the pressure residual intensity index by more than 15 dB in the 50 Hz--10 kHz range, matching the Class I requirements of IEC 1043 standards for intensity probes without any need for multiple spacers.

A mathematical model for source separation of MMG signals recorded with a coupled microphone-accelerometer sensor pair.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Jorge; Chau, Tom

2005-09-01

Recent advances in sensor technology for muscle activity monitoring have resulted in the development of a coupled microphone-accelerometer sensor pair for physiological acousti signal recording. This sensor can be used to eliminate interfering sources in practical settings where the contamination of an acoustic signal by ambient noise confounds detection but cannot be easily removed [e.g., mechanomyography (MMG), swallowing sounds, respiration, and heart sounds]. This paper presents a mathematical model for the coupled microphone-accelerometer vibration sensor pair, specifically applied to muscle activity monitoring (i.e., MMG) and noise discrimination in externally powered prostheses for below-elbow amputees. While the model provides a simple and reliable source separation technique for MMG signals, it can also be easily adapted to other aplications where the recording of low-frequency (< 1 kHz) physiological vibration signals is required.

Cardiorespiratory system monitoring using a developed acoustic sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbasi-Kesbi, Reza; Valipour, Atefeh; Imani, Khadije

2018-02-01

This Letter proposes a wireless acoustic sensor for monitoring heartbeat and respiration rate based on phonocardiogram (PCG). The developed sensor comprises a processor, a transceiver which operates at industrial, scientific and medical band and the frequency of 2.54 GHz as well as two capacitor microphones which one for recording the heartbeat and another one for respiration rate. To evaluate the precision of the presented sensor in estimating heartbeat and respiration rate, the sensor is tested on the different volunteers and the obtained results are compared with a gold standard as a reference. The results reveal that root-mean-square error are determined sensor estimate sounds of [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text] obtained PCG signal with sensitivity and specificity 98.1% and 98.3% in turn that make 3% improvement than previous works. The results prove that the sensor can be appropriate candidate for recognising abnormal condition in the cardiorespiratory system.

Problems in nonlinear acoustics: Scattering of sound by sound, parametric receiving arrays, nonlinear effects in asymmetric sound beams and pulsed finite amplitude sound beams

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Mark F.

1989-08-01

Four projects are discussed in this annual summary report, all of which involve basic research in nonlinear acoustics: Scattering of Sound by Sound, a theoretical study of two nonconlinear Gaussian beams which interact to produce sum and difference frequency sound; Parametric Receiving Arrays, a theoretical study of parametric reception in a reverberant environment; Nonlinear Effects in Asymmetric Sound Beams, a numerical study of two dimensional finite amplitude sound fields; and Pulsed Finite Amplitude Sound Beams, a numerical time domain solution of the KZK equation.

PREFACE: Aerodynamic sound Aerodynamic sound

Science.gov (United States)

Akishita, Sadao

2010-02-01

The modern theory of aerodynamic sound originates from Lighthill's two papers in 1952 and 1954, as is well known. I have heard that Lighthill was motivated in writing the papers by the jet-noise emitted by the newly commercialized jet-engined airplanes at that time. The technology of aerodynamic sound is destined for environmental problems. Therefore the theory should always be applied to newly emerged public nuisances. This issue of Fluid Dynamics Research (FDR) reflects problems of environmental sound in present Japanese technology. The Japanese community studying aerodynamic sound has held an annual symposium since 29 years ago when the late Professor S Kotake and Professor S Kaji of Teikyo University organized the symposium. Most of the Japanese authors in this issue are members of the annual symposium. I should note the contribution of the two professors cited above in establishing the Japanese community of aerodynamic sound research. It is my pleasure to present the publication in this issue of ten papers discussed at the annual symposium. I would like to express many thanks to the Editorial Board of FDR for giving us the chance to contribute these papers. We have a review paper by T Suzuki on the study of jet noise, which continues to be important nowadays, and is expected to reform the theoretical model of generating mechanisms. Professor M S Howe and R S McGowan contribute an analytical paper, a valuable study in today's fluid dynamics research. They apply hydrodynamics to solve the compressible flow generated in the vocal cords of the human body. Experimental study continues to be the main methodology in aerodynamic sound, and it is expected to explore new horizons. H Fujita's study on the Aeolian tone provides a new viewpoint on major, longstanding sound problems. The paper by M Nishimura and T Goto on textile fabrics describes new technology for the effective reduction of bluff-body noise. The paper by T Sueki et al also reports new technology for the

Frequency-independent radiation modes of interior sound radiation: Experimental study and global active control

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, C.; Papantoni, V.; Algermissen, S.; Monner, H. P.

2017-08-01

Active control of structural sound radiation is a promising technique to overcome the poor passive acoustic isolation performance of lightweight structures in the low-frequency region. Active structural acoustic control commonly aims at the suppression of the far-field radiated sound power. This paper is concerned with the active control of sound radiation into acoustic enclosures. Experimental results of a coupled rectangular plate-fluid system under stochastic excitation are presented. The amplitudes of the frequency-independent interior radiation modes are determined in real-time using a set of structural vibration sensors, for the purpose of estimating their contribution to the acoustic potential energy in the enclosure. This approach is validated by acoustic measurements inside the cavity. Utilizing a feedback control approach, a broadband reduction of the global acoustic response inside the enclosure is achieved.

Biomimetic micromechanical adaptive flow-sensor arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Krijnen, Gijs; Floris, Arjan; Dijkstra, Marcel; Lammerink, Theo; Wiegerink, Remco

2007-05-01

We report current developments in biomimetic flow-sensors based on flow sensitive mechano-sensors of crickets. Crickets have one form of acoustic sensing evolved in the form of mechanoreceptive sensory hairs. These filiform hairs are highly perceptive to low-frequency sound with energy sensitivities close to thermal threshold. In this work we describe hair-sensors fabricated by a combination of sacrificial poly-silicon technology, to form silicon-nitride suspended membranes, and SU8 polymer processing for fabrication of hairs with diameters of about 50 μm and up to 1 mm length. The membranes have thin chromium electrodes on top forming variable capacitors with the substrate that allow for capacitive read-out. Previously these sensors have been shown to exhibit acoustic sensitivity. Like for the crickets, the MEMS hair-sensors are positioned on elongated structures, resembling the cercus of crickets. In this work we present optical measurements on acoustically and electrostatically excited hair-sensors. We present adaptive control of flow-sensitivity and resonance frequency by electrostatic spring stiffness softening. Experimental data and simple analytical models derived from transduction theory are shown to exhibit good correspondence, both confirming theory and the applicability of the presented approach towards adaptation.

Turbine sound may influence the metamorphosis behaviour of estuarine crab megalopae.

Science.gov (United States)

Pine, Matthew K; Jeffs, Andrew G; Radford, Craig A

2012-01-01

It is now widely accepted that a shift towards renewable energy production is needed in order to avoid further anthropogenically induced climate change. The ocean provides a largely untapped source of renewable energy. As a result, harvesting electrical power from the wind and tides has sparked immense government and commercial interest but with relatively little detailed understanding of the potential environmental impacts. This study investigated how the sound emitted from an underwater tidal turbine and an offshore wind turbine would influence the settlement and metamorphosis of the pelagic larvae of estuarine brachyuran crabs which are ubiquitous in most coastal habitats. In a laboratory experiment the median time to metamorphosis (TTM) for the megalopae of the crabs Austrohelice crassa and Hemigrapsus crenulatus was significantly increased by at least 18 h when exposed to either tidal turbine or sea-based wind turbine sound, compared to silent control treatments. Contrastingly, when either species were subjected to natural habitat sound, observed median TTM decreased by approximately 21-31% compared to silent control treatments, 38-47% compared to tidal turbine sound treatments, and 46-60% compared to wind turbine sound treatments. A lack of difference in median TTM in A. crassa between two different source levels of tidal turbine sound suggests the frequency composition of turbine sound is more relevant in explaining such responses rather than sound intensity. These results show that estuarine mudflat sound mediates natural metamorphosis behaviour in two common species of estuarine crabs, and that exposure to continuous turbine sound interferes with this natural process. These results raise concerns about the potential ecological impacts of sound generated by renewable energy generation systems placed in the nearshore environment.

Turbine sound may influence the metamorphosis behaviour of estuarine crab megalopae.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew K Pine

Full Text Available It is now widely accepted that a shift towards renewable energy production is needed in order to avoid further anthropogenically induced climate change. The ocean provides a largely untapped source of renewable energy. As a result, harvesting electrical power from the wind and tides has sparked immense government and commercial interest but with relatively little detailed understanding of the potential environmental impacts. This study investigated how the sound emitted from an underwater tidal turbine and an offshore wind turbine would influence the settlement and metamorphosis of the pelagic larvae of estuarine brachyuran crabs which are ubiquitous in most coastal habitats. In a laboratory experiment the median time to metamorphosis (TTM for the megalopae of the crabs Austrohelice crassa and Hemigrapsus crenulatus was significantly increased by at least 18 h when exposed to either tidal turbine or sea-based wind turbine sound, compared to silent control treatments. Contrastingly, when either species were subjected to natural habitat sound, observed median TTM decreased by approximately 21-31% compared to silent control treatments, 38-47% compared to tidal turbine sound treatments, and 46-60% compared to wind turbine sound treatments. A lack of difference in median TTM in A. crassa between two different source levels of tidal turbine sound suggests the frequency composition of turbine sound is more relevant in explaining such responses rather than sound intensity. These results show that estuarine mudflat sound mediates natural metamorphosis behaviour in two common species of estuarine crabs, and that exposure to continuous turbine sound interferes with this natural process. These results raise concerns about the potential ecological impacts of sound generated by renewable energy generation systems placed in the nearshore environment.

Perancangan Jaringan Sensor Terdistribusi untuk Pengaturan Suhu, Kelembaban dan Intensitas Cahaya

OpenAIRE

Bimo Ananto Pamungkas; Adian Fatchur Rochim; Eko Didik Widianto

2013-01-01

This paper contains distributed sensor system design for temperature, air humidity, and light intensity monitoring in greenhouse based Arduino Uno board. System contains 2 sensor-actuator nodes, and 1 controller node connected to Ethernet network through Ethernet Shield board. Sensor-actuator node with DHT 11 sensor works for taking environment informations such as temperature, air humidity, and light intensity, runs actuation in the form of emulating LED lights; and communicates with control...

Time measurements with a mobile device using sound

Science.gov (United States)

Wisman, Raymond F.; Spahn, Gabriel; Forinash, Kyle

2018-05-01

Data collection is a fundamental skill in science education, one that students generally practice in a controlled setting using equipment only available in the classroom laboratory. However, using smartphones with their built-in sensors and often free apps, many fundamental experiments can be performed outside the laboratory. Taking advantage of these tools often require creative approaches to data collection and exploring alternative strategies for experimental procedures. As examples, we present several experiments using smartphones and apps that record and analyze sound to measure a variety of physical properties.

Model-based sensor diagnosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milgram, J.; Dormoy, J.L.

1994-09-01

Running a nuclear power plant involves monitoring data provided by the installation's sensors. Operators and computerized systems then use these data to establish a diagnostic of the plant. However, the instrumentation system is complex, and is not immune to faults and failures. This paper presents a system for detecting sensor failures using a topological description of the installation and a set of component models. This model of the plant implicitly contains relations between sensor data. These relations must always be checked if all the components are functioning correctly. The failure detection task thus consists of checking these constraints. The constraints are extracted in two stages. Firstly, a qualitative model of their existence is built using structural analysis. Secondly, the models are formally handled according to the results of the structural analysis, in order to establish the constraints on the sensor data. This work constitutes an initial step in extending model-based diagnosis, as the information on which it is based is suspect. This work will be followed by surveillance of the detection system. When the instrumentation is assumed to be sound, the unverified constraints indicate errors on the plant model. (authors). 8 refs., 4 figs

Performance of active feedforward control systems in non-ideal, synthesized diffuse sound fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Misol, Malte; Bloch, Christian; Monner, Hans Peter; Sinapius, Michael

2014-04-01

The acoustic performance of passive or active panel structures is usually tested in sound transmission loss facilities. A reverberant sending room, equipped with one or a number of independent sound sources, is used to generate a diffuse sound field excitation which acts as a disturbance source on the structure under investigation. The spatial correlation and coherence of such a synthesized non-ideal diffuse-sound-field excitation, however, might deviate significantly from the ideal case. This has consequences for the operation of an active feedforward control system which heavily relies on the acquisition of coherent disturbance source information. This work, therefore, evaluates the spatial correlation and coherence of ideal and non-ideal diffuse sound fields and considers the implications on the performance of a feedforward control system. The system under consideration is an aircraft-typical double panel system, equipped with an active sidewall panel (lining), which is realized in a transmission loss facility. Experimental results for different numbers of sound sources in the reverberation room are compared to simulation results of a comparable generic double panel system excited by an ideal diffuse sound field. It is shown that the number of statistically independent noise sources acting on the primary structure of the double panel system depends not only on the type of diffuse sound field but also on the sample lengths of the processed signals. The experimental results show that the number of reference sensors required for a defined control performance exhibits an inverse relationship to control filter length.

Sound produced by an oscillating arc in a high-pressure gas

Science.gov (United States)

Popov, Fedor K.; Shneider, Mikhail N.

2017-08-01

We suggest a simple theory to describe the sound generated by small periodic perturbations of a cylindrical arc in a dense gas. Theoretical analysis was done within the framework of the non-self-consistent channel arc model and supplemented with time-dependent gas dynamic equations. It is shown that an arc with power amplitude oscillations on the order of several percent is a source of sound whose intensity is comparable with external ultrasound sources used in experiments to increase the yield of nanoparticles in the high pressure arc systems for nanoparticle synthesis.

Imagining Sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grimshaw, Mark; Garner, Tom Alexander

2014-01-01

We make the case in this essay that sound that is imagined is both a perception and as much a sound as that perceived through external stimulation. To argue this, we look at the evidence from auditory science, neuroscience, and philosophy, briefly present some new conceptual thinking on sound...... that accounts for this view, and then use this to look at what the future might hold in the context of imagining sound and developing technology....

Self-mixing laser Doppler vibrometry with high optical sensitivity application to real-time sound reproduction

CERN Document Server

Abe, K; Ko, J Y

2003-01-01

Nanometre vibration measurement of an audio speaker and a highly sensitive sound reproduction experiment have been successfully demonstrated by a self-aligned optical feedback vibrometry technique using the self-mixing modulation effect in a laser-diode-pumped microchip solid-state laser. By applying nanometre vibrations to the speaker, which produced nearly inaudible music below 20 dB (200 mu Pa) sound pressure level, we could reproduce clear sound in real time by the use of a simple frequency modulated wave demodulation circuit with a -120 dB light-intensity feedback ratio.

Self-mixing laser Doppler vibrometry with high optical sensitivity: application to real-time sound reproduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abe, Kazutaka; Otsuka, Kenju; Ko, Jing-Yuan

2003-01-01

Nanometre vibration measurement of an audio speaker and a highly sensitive sound reproduction experiment have been successfully demonstrated by a self-aligned optical feedback vibrometry technique using the self-mixing modulation effect in a laser-diode-pumped microchip solid-state laser. By applying nanometre vibrations to the speaker, which produced nearly inaudible music below 20 dB (200 μPa) sound pressure level, we could reproduce clear sound in real time by the use of a simple frequency modulated wave demodulation circuit with a -120 dB light-intensity feedback ratio

Self-mixing laser Doppler vibrometry with high optical sensitivity: application to real-time sound reproduction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abe, Kazutaka [Department of Human and Information Science, Tokai University, 1117 Kitakaname, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa (Japan); Otsuka, Kenju [Department of Human and Information Science, Tokai University, 1117 Kitakaname, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa (Japan); Ko, Jing-Yuan [Department of Physics, Tunghai University, 181 Taichung-kang Road, Section 3, Taichung 407, Taiwan (China)

2003-01-01

Nanometre vibration measurement of an audio speaker and a highly sensitive sound reproduction experiment have been successfully demonstrated by a self-aligned optical feedback vibrometry technique using the self-mixing modulation effect in a laser-diode-pumped microchip solid-state laser. By applying nanometre vibrations to the speaker, which produced nearly inaudible music below 20 dB (200 {mu}Pa) sound pressure level, we could reproduce clear sound in real time by the use of a simple frequency modulated wave demodulation circuit with a -120 dB light-intensity feedback ratio.

Vibrating-Wire, Supercooled Liquid Water Content Sensor Calibration and Characterization Progress

Science.gov (United States)

King, Michael C.; Bognar, John A.; Guest, Daniel; Bunt, Fred

2016-01-01

NASA conducted a winter 2015 field campaign using weather balloons at the NASA Glenn Research Center to generate a validation database for the NASA Icing Remote Sensing System. The weather balloons carried a specialized, disposable, vibrating-wire sensor to determine supercooled liquid water content aloft. Significant progress has been made to calibrate and characterize these sensors. Calibration testing of the vibrating-wire sensors was carried out in a specially developed, low-speed, icing wind tunnel, and the results were analyzed. The sensor ice accretion behavior was also documented and analyzed. Finally, post-campaign evaluation of the balloon soundings revealed a gradual drift in the sensor data with increasing altitude. This behavior was analyzed and a method to correct for the drift in the data was developed.

DESIGN AND APPLICATION OF SENSOR FOR RECORDING SOUNDS OVER HUMAN EYE AND NOSE

NARCIS (Netherlands)

JOURNEE, HL; VANBRUGGEN, AC; VANDERMEER, JJ; DEJONGE, AB; MOOIJ, JJA

The recording of sounds over the oribt of the eye has been found to be useful in the detection of intracranial aneurysms. A hydrophone for auscultation over the eye has been developed and is tested under controlled conditions. The tests consist of measurement over the eyes in three healthy

Turbine Sound May Influence the Metamorphosis Behaviour of Estuarine Crab Megalopae

Science.gov (United States)

Pine, Matthew K.; Jeffs, Andrew G.; Radford, Craig A.

2012-01-01

It is now widely accepted that a shift towards renewable energy production is needed in order to avoid further anthropogenically induced climate change. The ocean provides a largely untapped source of renewable energy. As a result, harvesting electrical power from the wind and tides has sparked immense government and commercial interest but with relatively little detailed understanding of the potential environmental impacts. This study investigated how the sound emitted from an underwater tidal turbine and an offshore wind turbine would influence the settlement and metamorphosis of the pelagic larvae of estuarine brachyuran crabs which are ubiquitous in most coastal habitats. In a laboratory experiment the median time to metamorphosis (TTM) for the megalopae of the crabs Austrohelice crassa and Hemigrapsus crenulatus was significantly increased by at least 18 h when exposed to either tidal turbine or sea-based wind turbine sound, compared to silent control treatments. Contrastingly, when either species were subjected to natural habitat sound, observed median TTM decreased by approximately 21–31% compared to silent control treatments, 38–47% compared to tidal turbine sound treatments, and 46–60% compared to wind turbine sound treatments. A lack of difference in median TTM in A. crassa between two different source levels of tidal turbine sound suggests the frequency composition of turbine sound is more relevant in explaining such responses rather than sound intensity. These results show that estuarine mudflat sound mediates natural metamorphosis behaviour in two common species of estuarine crabs, and that exposure to continuous turbine sound interferes with this natural process. These results raise concerns about the potential ecological impacts of sound generated by renewable energy generation systems placed in the nearshore environment. PMID:23240063

Noise in contemporary neonatal intensive care.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Amber L; van Drongelen, Wim; Lasky, Robert E

2007-05-01

Weekly sound surveys (n = 63) were collected, using 5 s sampling intervals, for two modern neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Median weekly equivalent sound pressure levels (LEQ) for NICU A ranged from 61 to 63 dB (A weighted), depending on the level of care. NICU B L(EQ) measurements ranged from 55 to 60 dB (A weighted). NICU B was recently built with a focus on sound abatement, explaining much of the difference between the two NICUs. Sound levels exceeded 45 dB (A weighted), recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than 70% of the time for all levels of care. Hourly L(EQ)s below 50 dB (A weighted) and hourly L10s below 55 dB (A weighted), recommended by the Sound Study Group (SSG) of the National Resource Center, were also exceeded in more than 70% of recorded samples. A third SSG recommendation, that the 1 s L(MAX), should not exceed 70 dB (A weighted), was exceeded relatively infrequently (< 11% of the time). Peak impulse measurements exceeded 90 dB for 6.3% of 5 s samples recorded from NICU A and 2.8% of NICU B samples. Twenty-four h periodicities in sound levels as a function of regular staff activities were apparent, but short-term variability was considerable.

A telescopic cinema sound camera for observing high altitude aerospace vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, Dan

2014-09-01

Rockets and other high altitude aerospace vehicles produce interesting visual and aural phenomena that can be remotely observed from long distances. This paper describes a compact, passive and covert remote sensing system that can produce high resolution sound movies at >100 km viewing distances. The telescopic high resolution camera is capable of resolving and quantifying space launch vehicle dynamics including plume formation, staging events and payload fairing jettison. Flight vehicles produce sounds and vibrations that modulate the local electromagnetic environment. These audio frequency modulations can be remotely sensed by passive optical and radio wave detectors. Acousto-optic sensing methods were primarily used but an experimental radioacoustic sensor using passive micro-Doppler radar techniques was also tested. The synchronized combination of high resolution flight vehicle imagery with the associated vehicle sounds produces a cinema like experience that that is useful in both an aerospace engineering and a Hollywood film production context. Examples of visual, aural and radar observations of the first SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket launch are shown and discussed.

Leakage monitoring device and method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Izumi; Matsui, Yuji; Fujimori, Haruo.

1995-01-01

In a water leakage monitor for a steam generator, output signals from an acoustic sensor disposed in the vicinity of a region to be monitored is subjected to phasing calculation (beam forming calculation) to determine the distribution of a sound source intensity distribution. A peak is retrieved based on the distribution of the sound source intensity distribution. A correction coefficient depending on the position of the peak is multiplied to the sound source intensity. The presence or absence of leakage is determined based on the degree of the sound source intensity after the completion of correction. Namely, a relative value of sound source intensity for each of the portions in the region to be monitored is determined, and the point of the greatest sound source intensity is assumed as a leaking point, to determine the position of the leakage. An absolute value of the sound source intensity at the leaking point is determined by such a constitution that a correction coefficient depending on the position is multiplied to the intensity of the position of the peak in the distribution of the sound intensity. A threshold value for the determination of the presence or absence of the leakage can be set if a relation between an amount of the leakage previously determined experimentally and the intensity of the sound source. Then, a countermeasure can easily be taken after the detection of the leakage and a restoring operation can be carried out rapidly after the occurrence of leakage while avoiding unnecessary shutdown. (N.H.)

Optical fiber sensors: Systems and applications. Volume 2

Science.gov (United States)

Culshaw, Brian; Dakin, John

State-of-the-art fiber-optic (FO) sensors and their applications are described in chapters contributed by leading experts. Consideration is given to interferometers, FO gyros, intensity- and wavelength-based sensors and optical actuators, Si in FO sensors, point-sensor multiplexing principles, and distributed FO sensor systems. Also examined are chemical, biochemical, and medical sensors; physical and chemical sensors for process control; FO-sensor applications in the marine and aerospace industries; FO-sensor monitoring systems for security and safety, structural integrity, NDE, and the electric-power industry; and the market situation for FO-sensor technology. Diagrams, drawings, graphs, and photographs are provided.

Advances in the development of an integrated data assimilation and sounding system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dabberdt, W.F.; Parsons, D.; Kuo, Y.H.; Dudhia, J.; Guo, Y.R.; Van Baelen, J.; Martin, C.; Oncley, S.

1994-01-01

The Integrated Data Assimilation and Sounding System (IDASS) provides continuous high-resolution tropospheric profiles. The measurement system (Integrated Sounding System, or ISS) is developed around a suite of in situ and active and passive remote sensors. Observations from ISS networks provide a high-resolution description of atmospheric structure on the mesoscale. Measurements are coupled with a state-of-the-art mesoscale modeling system. The mesoscale data assimilation scheme is the Newtonian nudging technique. In the mesoscale data assimilation process, observations of wind, temperature, and humidity are used to nudge or relax the time-dependent model variables to the observed values. The end product is a highly resolved four-dimensional meteorological data set (including three components of wind, temperature, humidity, cloud water, and integrated moisture)

The production and perception of emotionally expressive walking sounds: similarities between musical performance and everyday motor activity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno L Giordano

Full Text Available Several studies have investigated the encoding and perception of emotional expressivity in music performance. A relevant question concerns how the ability to communicate emotions in music performance is acquired. In accordance with recent theories on the embodiment of emotion, we suggest here that both the expression and recognition of emotion in music might at least in part rely on knowledge about the sounds of expressive body movements. We test this hypothesis by drawing parallels between musical expression of emotions and expression of emotions in sounds associated with a non-musical motor activity: walking. In a combined production-perception design, two experiments were conducted, and expressive acoustical features were compared across modalities. An initial performance experiment tested for similar feature use in walking sounds and music performance, and revealed that strong similarities exist. Features related to sound intensity, tempo and tempo regularity were identified as been used similarly in both domains. Participants in a subsequent perception experiment were able to recognize both non-emotional and emotional properties of the sound-generating walkers. An analysis of the acoustical correlates of behavioral data revealed that variations in sound intensity, tempo, and tempo regularity were likely used to recognize expressed emotions. Taken together, these results lend support the motor origin hypothesis for the musical expression of emotions.

A Knowledge-Based Approach to Automatic Detection of Equipment Alarm Sounds in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Raboshchuk, Ganna; Nadeu, Climent; Jancovic, Peter; Lilja, Alex Peiro; Kokuer, Munevver; Munoz Mahamud, Blanca; Riverola De Veciana, Ana

2018-01-01

A large number of alarm sounds triggered by biomedical equipment occur frequently in the noisy environment of a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and play a key role in providing healthcare. In this paper, our work on the development of an automatic system for detection of acoustic alarms in that difficult environment is presented. Such automatic detection system is needed for the investigation of how a preterm infant reacts to auditory stimuli of the NICU environment and for an improved real-time patient monitoring. The approach presented in this paper consists of using the available knowledge about each alarm class in the design of the detection system. The information about the frequency structure is used in the feature extraction stage, and the time structure knowledge is incorporated at the post-processing stage. Several alternative methods are compared for feature extraction, modeling, and post-processing. The detection performance is evaluated with real data recorded in the NICU of the hospital, and by using both frame-level and period-level metrics. The experimental results show that the inclusion of both spectral and temporal information allows to improve the baseline detection performance by more than 60%.

Improvement of directionality and sound-localization by internal ear coupling in barn owls

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wagner, Hermann; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jakob; Kettler, Lutz

Mark Konishi was one of the first to quantify sound-localization capabilities in barn owls. He showed that frequencies between 3 and 10 kHz underlie precise sound localization in these birds, and that they derive spatial information from processing interaural time and interaural level differences....... However, despite intensive research during the last 40 years it is still unclear whether and how internal ear coupling contributes to sound localization in the barn owl. Here we investigated ear directionality in anesthetized birds with the help of laser vibrometry. Care was taken that anesthesia...... time difference in the low-frequency range, barn owls hesitate to approach prey or turn their heads when only low-frequency auditory information is present in a stimulus they receive. Thus, the barn-owl's sound localization system seems to be adapted to work best in frequency ranges where interaural...

Development of Prediction Tool for Sound Absorption and Sound Insulation for Sound Proof Properties

OpenAIRE

Yoshio Kurosawa; Takao Yamaguchi

2015-01-01

High frequency automotive interior noise above 500 Hz considerably affects automotive passenger comfort. To reduce this noise, sound insulation material is often laminated on body panels or interior trim panels. For a more effective noise reduction, the sound reduction properties of this laminated structure need to be estimated. We have developed a new calculate tool that can roughly calculate the sound absorption and insulation properties of laminate structure and handy ...

Parameterizing Sound: Design Considerations for an Environmental Sound Database

Science.gov (United States)

2015-04-01

associated with, or produced by, a physical event or human activity and 2) sound sources that are common in the environment. Reproductions or sound...Rogers S. Confrontation naming of environmental sounds. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology . 2000;22(6):830–864. 14 VanDerveer NJ

FUZZY MAPPING IN DATA SONIFICATION SYSTEM OF WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arseny A. Markhotin

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Problem Statement. This paper describes the modeling of sonification system with possible types of wireless sensor network data. Fuzzy logic is used for the data-to-sound mapping. Methods. Devised sonification system includes input data model and sound synthesis core. It was created in Pure Data. For fuzzy output of mapped data the Fuzzy Logic Toolboxof MATLABwas used. Moreover, the system model has an ability to send data to the side application via UDP protocol. Results. We offer the method of timbre space organization for sonification system output and the following output of control sound characteristics depending on the type of input data. Practical Relevance. The offered approach of using fuzzy logic in sonification systems can be applied in development of new applications when the formalization of data-to-sound mapping is difficult and also complicated timbal space organization is required.

Making fictions sound real - On film sound, perceptual realism and genre

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Birger Langkjær

2010-05-01

Full Text Available This article examines the role that sound plays in making fictions perceptually real to film audiences, whether these fictions are realist or non-realist in content and narrative form. I will argue that some aspects of film sound practices and the kind of experiences they trigger are related to basic rules of human perception, whereas others are more properly explained in relation to how aesthetic devices, including sound, are used to characterise the fiction and thereby make it perceptually real to its audience. Finally, I will argue that not all genres can be defined by a simple taxonomy of sounds. Apart from an account of the kinds of sounds that typically appear in a specific genre, a genre analysis of sound may also benefit from a functionalist approach that focuses on how sounds can make both realist and non-realist aspects of genres sound real to audiences.

Making fictions sound real - On film sound, perceptual realism and genre

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Birger Langkjær

2009-09-01

Full Text Available This article examines the role that sound plays in making fictions perceptually real to film audiences, whether these fictions are realist or non-realist in content and narrative form. I will argue that some aspects of film sound practices and the kind of experiences they trigger are related to basic rules of human perception, whereas others are more properly explained in relation to how aesthetic devices, including sound, are used to characterise the fiction and thereby make it perceptually real to its audience. Finally, I will argue that not all genres can be defined by a simple taxonomy of sounds. Apart from an account of the kinds of sounds that typically appear in a specific genre, a genre analysis of sound may also benefit from a functionalist approach that focuses on how sounds can make both realist and non-realist aspects of genres sound real to audiences.

A conceptual framework for analysing and measuring land-use intensity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Erb, Karl-Heinz; Haberl, Helmut; Jepsen, Martin Rudbeck

2013-01-01

Large knowledge gaps currently exist that limit our ability to understand and characterise dynamics and patterns of land-use intensity: in particular, a comprehensive conceptual framework and a system of measurement are lacking. This situation hampers the development of a sound understanding...... of the mechanisms, determinants, and constraints underlying changes in land-use intensity. On the basis of a review of approaches for studying land-use intensity, we propose a conceptual framework to quantify and analyse land-use intensity. This framework integrates three dimensions: (a) input intensity, (b) output...

Study of the Acoustic Effects of Hydrokinetic Tidal Turbines in Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brian Polagye; Jim Thomson; Chris Bassett; Jason Wood; Dom Tollit; Robert Cavagnaro; Andrea Copping

2012-03-30

Hydrokinetic turbines will be a source of noise in the marine environment - both during operation and during installation/removal. High intensity sound can cause injury or behavioral changes in marine mammals and may also affect fish and invertebrates. These noise effects are, however, highly dependent on the individual marine animals; the intensity, frequency, and duration of the sound; and context in which the sound is received. In other words, production of sound is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for an environmental impact. At a workshop on the environmental effects of tidal energy development, experts identified sound produced by turbines as an area of potentially significant impact, but also high uncertainty. The overall objectives of this project are to improve our understanding of the potential acoustic effects of tidal turbines by: (1) Characterizing sources of existing underwater noise; (2) Assessing the effectiveness of monitoring technologies to characterize underwater noise and marine mammal responsiveness to noise; (3) Evaluating the sound profile of an operating tidal turbine; and (4) Studying the effect of turbine sound on surrogate species in a laboratory environment. This study focuses on a specific case study for tidal energy development in Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound, Washington (USA), but the methodologies and results are applicable to other turbine technologies and geographic locations. The project succeeded in achieving the above objectives and, in doing so, substantially contributed to the body of knowledge around the acoustic effects of tidal energy development in several ways: (1) Through collection of data from Admiralty Inlet, established the sources of sound generated by strong currents (mobilizations of sediment and gravel) and determined that low-frequency sound recorded during periods of strong currents is non-propagating pseudo-sound. This helped to advance the debate within the marine and hydrokinetics acoustic

Fiber Optic Pressure Sensor using Multimode Interference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruiz-Perez, V I; Sanchez-Mondragon, J J; Basurto-Pensado, M A; LiKamWa, P; May-Arrioja, D A

2011-01-01

Based on the theory of multimode interference (MMI) and self-image formation, we developed a novel intrinsic optical fiber pressure sensor. The sensing element consists of a section of multimode fiber (MMF) without cladding spliced between two single mode fibers (SMF). The MMI pressure sensor is based on the intensity changes that occur in the transmitted light when the effective refractive index of the MMF is changed. Basically, a thick layer of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is placed in direct contact with the MMF section, such that the contact area between the PDMS and the fiber will change proportionally with the applied pressure, which results in a variation of the transmitted light intensity. Using this configuration, a good correlation between the measured intensity variations and the applied pressure is obtained. The sensitivity of the sensor is 3 μV/psi, for a range of 0-60 psi, and the maximum resolution of our system is 0.25 psi. Good repeatability is also observed with a standard deviation of 0.0019. The key feature of the proposed pressure sensor is its low fabrication cost, since the cost of the MMF is minimal.

Fiber Optic Pressure Sensor using Multimode Interference

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruiz-Perez, V I; Sanchez-Mondragon, J J [INAOE, Apartado Postal 51 y 216, Puebla 72000 (Mexico); Basurto-Pensado, M A [CIICAp, Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos (Mexico); LiKamWa, P [CREOL, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816 (United States); May-Arrioja, D A, E-mail: iruiz@inaoep.mx, E-mail: mbasurto@uaem.mx, E-mail: delta_dirac@hotmail.com, E-mail: daniel_may_arrioja@hotmail.com [UAT Reynosa Rodhe, Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas (Mexico)

2011-01-01

Based on the theory of multimode interference (MMI) and self-image formation, we developed a novel intrinsic optical fiber pressure sensor. The sensing element consists of a section of multimode fiber (MMF) without cladding spliced between two single mode fibers (SMF). The MMI pressure sensor is based on the intensity changes that occur in the transmitted light when the effective refractive index of the MMF is changed. Basically, a thick layer of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is placed in direct contact with the MMF section, such that the contact area between the PDMS and the fiber will change proportionally with the applied pressure, which results in a variation of the transmitted light intensity. Using this configuration, a good correlation between the measured intensity variations and the applied pressure is obtained. The sensitivity of the sensor is 3 {mu}V/psi, for a range of 0-60 psi, and the maximum resolution of our system is 0.25 psi. Good repeatability is also observed with a standard deviation of 0.0019. The key feature of the proposed pressure sensor is its low fabrication cost, since the cost of the MMF is minimal.

Ammonia Sensor Using Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy

KAUST Repository

Farooq, Aamir; Owen, Kyle

2015-01-01

An ammonia sensor can include a laser detector configured to provide stable sample readings. The sensor can implement a method including processing the recorded intensity of the laser beam to determine a first harmonic component and a second harmonic component and the amount of ammonia in the sample.

Ammonia Sensor Using Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy

KAUST Repository

Farooq, Aamir

2015-09-01

An ammonia sensor can include a laser detector configured to provide stable sample readings. The sensor can implement a method including processing the recorded intensity of the laser beam to determine a first harmonic component and a second harmonic component and the amount of ammonia in the sample.

Atypical pattern of discriminating sound features in adults with Asperger syndrome as reflected by the mismatch negativity.

Science.gov (United States)

Kujala, T; Aho, E; Lepistö, T; Jansson-Verkasalo, E; Nieminen-von Wendt, T; von Wendt, L; Näätänen, R

2007-04-01

Asperger syndrome, which belongs to the autistic spectrum of disorders, is characterized by deficits of social interaction and abnormal perception, like hypo- or hypersensitivity in reacting to sounds and discriminating certain sound features. We determined auditory feature discrimination in adults with Asperger syndrome with the mismatch negativity (MMN), a neural response which is an index of cortical change detection. We recorded MMN for five different sound features (duration, frequency, intensity, location, and gap). Our results suggest hypersensitive auditory change detection in Asperger syndrome, as reflected in the enhanced MMN for deviant sounds with a gap or shorter duration, and speeded MMN elicitation for frequency changes.

Self-calibrating solar position sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Maxey, Lonnie Curt

2018-01-30

A sun positioning sensor and method of accurately tracking the sun are disclosed. The sensor includes a position sensing diode and a disk having a body defining an aperture for accepting solar light. An extension tube having a body that defines a duct spaces the position sensing diode from the disk such that the solar light enters the aperture in the disk, travels through the duct in the extension tube and strikes the position sensing diode. The extension tube has a known length that is fixed. Voltage signals indicative of the location and intensity of the sun are generated by the position sensing diode. If it is determined that the intensity values are unreliable, then historical position values are used from a table. If the intensity values are deemed reliable, then actual position values are used from the position sensing diode.

Designing an array for performing Near-field Acoustic Holography with a small number of p-u probes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fernandez Comesaña, Daniel; Wen, Junjie; Fernandez Grande, Efren

2016-01-01

, such approaches usually require that a large number of transducers is spatially distributed over the area of interest. This paper describes some practical considerations for the design and optimization of a compact sensor array for performing NAH with a small number of sound intensity p-u probes. Two sensor...

Strain measurement using multiplexed fiber optic sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, Il Bum; Kim, Chi Yeop; Yoon, Dong Jin; Lee, Seung Seok

2003-01-01

FBG(Fiber Bragg grating) sensor, which is one of the fiber optic sensors for the application of smart structures, can not only measure one specific point but also multiple points by multiplexing techniques. We have proposed a novel multiplexing technique of FBG sensor by the intensity modulation of light source. This technique is applicable to WDM(Wavelength Division Multiplexing) technique and number of sensors in this system can be increased by using this technique with WDM technique.

A Self-Referenced Optical Intensity Sensor Network Using POFBGs for Biomedical Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberto Tapetado Moraleda

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This work bridges the gap between the remote interrogation of multiple optical sensors and the advantages of using inherently biocompatible low-cost polymer optical fiber (POF-based photonic sensing. A novel hybrid sensor network combining both silica fiber Bragg gratings (FBG and polymer FBGs (POFBG is analyzed. The topology is compatible with WDM networks so multiple remote sensors can be addressed providing high scalability. A central monitoring unit with virtual data processing is implemented, which could be remotely located up to units of km away. The feasibility of the proposed solution for potential medical environments and biomedical applications is shown.

A self-referenced optical intensity sensor network using POFBGs for biomedical applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Tapetado Moraleda, Alberto; Sánchez Montero, David; Webb, David J; Vázquez García, Carmen

2014-12-12

This work bridges the gap between the remote interrogation of multiple optical sensors and the advantages of using inherently biocompatible low-cost polymer optical fiber (POF)-based photonic sensing. A novel hybrid sensor network combining both silica fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) and polymer FBGs (POFBG) is analyzed. The topology is compatible with WDM networks so multiple remote sensors can be addressed providing high scalability. A central monitoring unit with virtual data processing is implemented, which could be remotely located up to units of km away. The feasibility of the proposed solution for potential medical environments and biomedical applications is shown.

Optical Sensor based Chemical Modification as a Porous Cellulose Acetate Film and Its Application for Ethanol Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Mulijani, S.; Iswantini, D.; Wicaksono, R.; Notriawan, D.

2018-03-01

A new approach to design and construction of an optical ethanol sensor has been developed by immobilizing a direct dye at a porous cellulosic polymer fllm. This sensor was fabricated by binding Nile Red to a cellulose acetate membrane that had previously been subjected to an exhaustive base hydrolysis. The prepared optical ethanol sensor was enhanced by adding pluronic as a porogen in the membrane. The addition of pluronic surfactant into cellulose acetate membrane increased the hydrophilic and porous properties of membrane. Advantageous features of the design include simple and easy of fabrication. Variable affecting sensor performance of dye concentration have been fully evaluated and optimized. The rapid response results from the porous structure of the polymeric support, which minimizes barriers to mass transport. Signal of optical sensor based on reaction of dye nile red over the membrane with ethanol and will produce the purple colored product. Result was obtained that maximum intensity of dye nile red reacted with alcohol is at 630-640 nm. Linear regression equation (r2), limit of detection, and limit of quantitation of membrane with 2% dye was 0.9625, 0.29%, and 0.97%. Performance of optical sensor was also evaluated through methanol, ethanol and propanol. This study was purposed to measure the polarity and selectivity of optic sensor toward the alcohol derivatives. Fluorescence intensity of optic sensor membrane for methanol 5%, ethanol 5% and propanol 5% was 15113.56, 16573.75 and 18495.97 respectively.

Making Sound Connections

Science.gov (United States)

Deal, Walter F., III

2007-01-01

Sound provides and offers amazing insights into the world. Sound waves may be defined as mechanical energy that moves through air or other medium as a longitudinal wave and consists of pressure fluctuations. Humans and animals alike use sound as a means of communication and a tool for survival. Mammals, such as bats, use ultrasonic sound waves to…

Ratiometric Alcohol Sensor based on a Polymeric Nile Blue

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sherif Ibrahim

2008-04-01

Full Text Available We present a sterilizable ratiometric fluorescent ethanol sensor with sensitivity over a wide range (0-100% of ethanol concentration v/v. The sensor is composed of a near infra red fluorescent solvatochromic dye, nile blue methacrylamide polymerized into a polyethylene (glycol dimethacrylate matrix. The dye can typically exhibit two or more wavelength dependent shifts in the fluorescence intensities based on its different micropolar environments. Two different concentrations of the nile blue methacrylamide dye were prepared and polymerized into homogenous films. The fluorescence properties of the two different films were investigated with a view to determining their ethanol sensing capabilities. The sensor was immersed in a water-ethanol solvent mixture. Excitation of the dye was performed at 470 nm. The range of emission wavelengths was 480-800 nm. The ratio of the fluorescence intensities at 620 nm and 554 nm was obtained for ethanol concentrations varying from 0-100% and the calibration curve of the ratiometric fluorescence intensities over the entire concentration range of ethanol was plotted. A ratiometric intensity change of over 33% has been obtained for pure ethanol compared to that obtained for pure water. The sensor response was rapid (≤10 minutes. The sterilizable ethanol sensor exhibits good potential for on-line monitoring of the ethanol generated in an LB fermentation chamber.

Computerised Analysis of Telemonitored Respiratory Sounds for Predicting Acute Exacerbations of COPD.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez-Granero, Miguel Angel; Sanchez-Morillo, Daniel; Leon-Jimenez, Antonio

2015-10-23

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the commonest causes of death in the world and poses a substantial burden on healthcare systems and patients' quality of life. The largest component of the related healthcare costs is attributable to admissions due to acute exacerbation (AECOPD). The evidence that might support the effectiveness of the telemonitoring interventions in COPD is limited partially due to the lack of useful predictors for the early detection of AECOPD. Electronic stethoscopes and computerised analyses of respiratory sounds (CARS) techniques provide an opportunity for substantial improvement in the management of respiratory diseases. This exploratory study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using: (a) a respiratory sensor embedded in a self-tailored housing for ageing users; (b) a telehealth framework; (c) CARS and (d) machine learning techniques for the remote early detection of the AECOPD. In a 6-month pilot study, 16 patients with COPD were equipped with a home base-station and a sensor to daily record their respiratory sounds. Principal component analysis (PCA) and a support vector machine (SVM) classifier was designed to predict AECOPD. 75.8% exacerbations were early detected with an average of 5 ± 1.9 days in advance at medical attention. The proposed method could provide support to patients, physicians and healthcare systems.

Modular and Adaptive Control of Sound Processing

Science.gov (United States)

van Nort, Douglas

This dissertation presents research into the creation of systems for the control of sound synthesis and processing. The focus differs from much of the work related to digital musical instrument design, which has rightly concentrated on the physicality of the instrument and interface: sensor design, choice of controller, feedback to performer and so on. Often times a particular choice of sound processing is made, and the resultant parameters from the physical interface are conditioned and mapped to the available sound parameters in an exploratory fashion. The main goal of the work presented here is to demonstrate the importance of the space that lies between physical interface design and the choice of sound manipulation algorithm, and to present a new framework for instrument design that strongly considers this essential part of the design process. In particular, this research takes the viewpoint that instrument designs should be considered in a musical control context, and that both control and sound dynamics must be considered in tandem. In order to achieve this holistic approach, the work presented in this dissertation assumes complementary points of view. Instrument design is first seen as a function of musical context, focusing on electroacoustic music and leading to a view on gesture that relates perceived musical intent to the dynamics of an instrumental system. The important design concept of mapping is then discussed from a theoretical and conceptual point of view, relating perceptual, systems and mathematically-oriented ways of examining the subject. This theoretical framework gives rise to a mapping design space, functional analysis of pertinent existing literature, implementations of mapping tools, instrumental control designs and several perceptual studies that explore the influence of mapping structure. Each of these reflect a high-level approach in which control structures are imposed on top of a high-dimensional space of control and sound synthesis

Analysis, Design and Implementation of an Embedded Realtime Sound Source Localization System Based on Beamforming Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arko Djajadi

2009-12-01

Full Text Available This project is intended to analyze, design and implement a realtime sound source localization system by using a mobile robot as the media. The implementated system uses 2 microphones as the sensors, Arduino Duemilanove microcontroller system with ATMega328p as the microprocessor, two permanent magnet DC motors as the actuators for the mobile robot and a servo motor as the actuator to rotate the webcam directing to the location of the sound source, and a laptop/PC as the simulation and display media. In order to achieve the objective of finding the position of a specific sound source, beamforming theory is applied to the system. Once the location of the sound source is detected and determined, the choice is either the mobile robot will adjust its position according to the direction of the sound source or only webcam will rotate in the direction of the incoming sound simulating the use of this system in a video conference. The integrated system has been tested and the results show the system could localize in realtime a sound source placed randomly on a half circle area (0 - 1800 with a radius of 0.3m - 3m, assuming the system is the center point of the circle. Due to low ADC and processor speed, achievable best angular resolution is still limited to 25o.

Fuzzy-Based Sensor Fusion for Cognitive Radio-Based Vehicular Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Jalil Piran

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In wireless sensor networks, sensor fusion is employed to integrate the acquired data from diverse sensors to provide a unified interpretation. The best and most salient advantage of sensor fusion is to obtain high-level information in both statistical and definitive aspects, which cannot be attained by a single sensor. In this paper, we propose a novel sensor fusion technique based on fuzzy theory for our earlier proposed Cognitive Radio-based Vehicular Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks (CR-VASNET. In the proposed technique, we considered four input sensor readings (antecedents and one output (consequent. The employed mobile nodes in CR-VASNET are supposed to be equipped with diverse sensors, which cater to our antecedent variables, for example, The Jerk, Collision Intensity, and Temperature and Inclination Degree. Crash_Severity is considered as the consequent variable. The processing and fusion of the diverse sensory signals are carried out by fuzzy logic scenario. Accuracy and reliability of the proposed protocol, demonstrated by the simulation results, introduce it as an applicable system to be employed to reduce the causalities rate of the vehicles’ crashes.

Differential Intracochlear Sound Pressure Measurements in Normal Human Temporal Bones

Science.gov (United States)

Nakajima, Hideko Heidi; Dong, Wei; Olson, Elizabeth S.; Merchant, Saumil N.; Ravicz, Michael E.; Rosowski, John J.

2009-02-01

We present the first simultaneous sound pressure measurements in scala vestibuli and scala tympani of the cochlea in human cadaveric temporal bones. Micro-scale fiberoptic pressure sensors enabled the study of differential sound pressure at the cochlear base. This differential pressure is the input to the cochlear partition, driving cochlear waves and auditory transduction. Results showed that: pressure of scala vestibuli was much greater than scala tympani except at low and high frequencies where scala tympani pressure affects the input to the cochlea; the differential pressure proved to be an excellent measure of normal ossicular transduction of sound (shown to decrease 30-50 dB with ossicular disarticulation, whereas the individual scala pressures were significantly affected by non-ossicular conduction of sound at high frequencies); the middle-ear gain and differential pressure were generally bandpass in frequency dependence; and the middle-ear delay in the human was over twice that of the gerbil. Concurrent stapes velocity measurements allowed determination of the differential impedance across the partition and round-window impedance. The differential impedance was generally resistive, while the round-window impedance was consistent with a compliance in conjunction with distributed inertia and damping. Our techniques can be used to study inner-ear conductive pathologies (e.g., semicircular dehiscence), as well as non-ossicular cochlear stimulation (e.g., round-window stimulation) - situations that cannot be completely quantified by measurements of stapes velocity or scala-vestibuli pressure by themselves.

Abnormal sound detection device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Izumi; Matsui, Yuji.

1995-01-01

Only components synchronized with rotation of pumps are sampled from detected acoustic sounds, to judge the presence or absence of abnormality based on the magnitude of the synchronized components. A synchronized component sampling means can remove resonance sounds and other acoustic sounds generated at a synchronously with the rotation based on the knowledge that generated acoustic components in a normal state are a sort of resonance sounds and are not precisely synchronized with the number of rotation. On the other hand, abnormal sounds of a rotating body are often caused by compulsory force accompanying the rotation as a generation source, and the abnormal sounds can be detected by extracting only the rotation-synchronized components. Since components of normal acoustic sounds generated at present are discriminated from the detected sounds, reduction of the abnormal sounds due to a signal processing can be avoided and, as a result, abnormal sound detection sensitivity can be improved. Further, since it is adapted to discriminate the occurrence of the abnormal sound from the actually detected sounds, the other frequency components which are forecast but not generated actually are not removed, so that it is further effective for the improvement of detection sensitivity. (N.H.)

SoundScapes: non-formal learning potentials from interactive VEs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brooks, Tony; Petersson, Eva

2007-01-01

Non-formal learning is evident from an inhabited information space that is created from non-invasive multi-dimensional sensor technologies that source human gesture. Libraries of intuitive interfaces empower natural interaction where the gesture is mapped to the multisensory content. Large screen...... and international bodies have consistently recognized SoundScapes which, as a research body of work, is directly responsible for numerous patents. Please note that my full name is Anthony Lewis Brooks. I publish with Anthony Brooks: A. L. Brooks; Tony Brooks.  ...

A prototype sensor system for the early detection of microbially linked spoilage in stored wheat grain

Science.gov (United States)

de Lacy Costello, B. P. J.; Ewen, R. J.; Gunson, H.; Ratcliffe, N. M.; Sivanand, P. S.; Spencer-Phillips, P. T. N.

2003-04-01

Sensors based on composites of metal oxides were fabricated and tested extensively under high-humidity and high-flow conditions with exposure to vapours reported to increase in the headspace of wheat grain (Triticum aestivum cv Hereward) colonized by fungi. The sensors that exhibited high sensitivity to target vapours combined with high stability were selected for inclusion into a four-sensor array prototype system. A sampling protocol aligned to parallel gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and human olfactory assessment studies was established for use with the sensor system. The sensor system was utilized to assess irradiated wheat samples that had been conditioned to 25% moisture content and inoculated with pathogens known to cause spoilage of grain in storage. These included the fungi Penicillium aurantiogriseum, Penicillium vulpinum, Penicillium verrucosum, Fusarium culmorum, Aspergillus niger, and Aspergillus flavus and the actinomycete, Streptomyces griseus. The sensor system successfully tracked the progress of the infections from a very early stage and the results were compared with human olfactory assessment panels run concurrently. A series of dilution studies were undertaken using previously infected grain mixed with sound grain, to improve the sensitivity and maximize the differentiation of the sensor system. An optimum set of conditions including incubation temperature, incubation time, sampling time, and flow rate were ascertained utilizing this method. The sensor system differentiated samples of sound grain from samples of sound grain with 1% (w/w) fungus infected grain added. Following laboratory trials, the prototype sensor system was evaluated in a commercial wheat grain intake facility. Thresholds calculated from laboratory tests were used to differentiate between sound and infected samples (classified by intake laboratory technicians) collected routinely from trucks delivering grain for use in food manufacture. All samples identified as having

Spectral integration in speech and non-speech sounds

Science.gov (United States)

Jacewicz, Ewa

2005-04-01

Spectral integration (or formant averaging) was proposed in vowel perception research to account for the observation that a reduction of the intensity of one of two closely spaced formants (as in /u/) produced a predictable shift in vowel quality [Delattre et al., Word 8, 195-210 (1952)]. A related observation was reported in psychoacoustics, indicating that when the components of a two-tone periodic complex differ in amplitude and frequency, its perceived pitch is shifted toward that of the more intense tone [Helmholtz, App. XIV (1875/1948)]. Subsequent research in both fields focused on the frequency interval that separates these two spectral components, in an attempt to determine the size of the bandwidth for spectral integration to occur. This talk will review the accumulated evidence for and against spectral integration within the hypothesized limit of 3.5 Bark for static and dynamic signals in speech perception and psychoacoustics. Based on similarities in the processing of speech and non-speech sounds, it is suggested that spectral integration may reflect a general property of the auditory system. A larger frequency bandwidth, possibly close to 3.5 Bark, may be utilized in integrating acoustic information, including speech, complex signals, or sound quality of a violin.

Intelligent fiber optic sensor for solution concentration examination

Science.gov (United States)

Borecki, Michal; Kruszewski, Jerzy

2003-09-01

This paper presents the working principles of intelligent fiber-optic intensity sensor used for solution concentration examination. The sensor head is the ending of the large core polymer optical fiber. The head works on the reflection intensity basis. The reflected signal level depends on Fresnel reflection and reflection on suspended matter when the head is submersed in solution. The sensor head is mounted on a lift. For detection purposes the signal includes head submerging, submersion, emerging and emergence is measured. This way the viscosity turbidity and refraction coefficient has an effect on measured signal. The signal forthcoming from head is processed electrically in opto-electronic interface. Then it is feed to neural network. The novelty of presented sensor is implementation of neural network that works in generalization mode. The sensor resolution depends on opto-electronic signal conversion precision and neural network learning accuracy. Therefore, the number and quality of points used for learning process is very important. The example sensor application for examination of liquid soap concentration in water is presented in the paper.

Design and implementation of a sensor for environmental control based on fiber optics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Navarro Becerra, Yamelys; Orlando Torres, Cesar; Giacometto, Francisco J

2011-01-01

In this paper, we developed and implemented experimentally a prototype sensor, with application to environmental monitoring, The prototype sensor is constituted by a capillary in which the gaseous fluid is set to move (gas or pollutant) and using the intensity of light transmitted through an optical fiber, we could obtain measurements of light intensity according to the presence of the pollutant, in our case correlated measures or levels of intensity of SO2 with the intensity of light that the sensor designed was able to measure, the sensor had two indicators of pollution lighting a red color when levels exceed the regulations (Resolution 909 of 2008) and green when everything is in its normal, the signal was issued electronically by a phototransistor fdt317 reference. With intensity meter Newport. And respectively a detector upon detection of the presence of the contaminant to infrared light showed an amount proportional to the rate of contamination.

Sound Search Engine Concept

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2006-01-01

Sound search is provided by the major search engines, however, indexing is text based, not sound based. We will establish a dedicated sound search services with based on sound feature indexing. The current demo shows the concept of the sound search engine. The first engine will be realased June...

Robotic vehicle uses acoustic sensors for voice detection and diagnostics

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Stuart H.; Scanlon, Michael V.

2000-07-01

An acoustic sensor array that cues an imaging system on a small tele- operated robotic vehicle was used to detect human voice and activity inside a building. The advantage of acoustic sensors is that it is a non-line of sight (NLOS) sensing technology that can augment traditional LOS sensors such as visible and IR cameras. Acoustic energy emitted from a target, such as from a person, weapon, or radio, will travel through walls and smoke, around corners, and down corridors, whereas these obstructions would cripple an imaging detection system. The hardware developed and tested used an array of eight microphones to detect the loudest direction and automatically setter a camera's pan/tilt toward the noise centroid. This type of system has applicability for counter sniper applications, building clearing, and search/rescue. Data presented will be time-frequency representations showing voice detected within rooms and down hallways at various ranges. Another benefit of acoustics is that it provides the tele-operator some situational awareness clues via low-bandwidth transmission of raw audio data for the operator to interpret with either headphones or through time-frequency analysis. This data can be useful to recognize familiar sounds that might indicate the presence of personnel, such as talking, equipment, movement noise, etc. The same array also detects the sounds of the robot it is mounted on, and can be useful for engine diagnostics and trouble shooting, or for self-noise emanations for stealthy travel. Data presented will characterize vehicle self noise over various surfaces such as tiles, carpets, pavement, sidewalk, and grass. Vehicle diagnostic sounds will indicate a slipping clutch and repeated unexpected application of emergency braking mechanism.

The sound manifesto

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donnell, Michael J.; Bisnovatyi, Ilia

2000-11-01

Computing practice today depends on visual output to drive almost all user interaction. Other senses, such as audition, may be totally neglected, or used tangentially, or used in highly restricted specialized ways. We have excellent audio rendering through D-A conversion, but we lack rich general facilities for modeling and manipulating sound comparable in quality and flexibility to graphics. We need coordinated research in several disciplines to improve the use of sound as an interactive information channel. Incremental and separate improvements in synthesis, analysis, speech processing, audiology, acoustics, music, etc. will not alone produce the radical progress that we seek in sonic practice. We also need to create a new central topic of study in digital audio research. The new topic will assimilate the contributions of different disciplines on a common foundation. The key central concept that we lack is sound as a general-purpose information channel. We must investigate the structure of this information channel, which is driven by the cooperative development of auditory perception and physical sound production. Particular audible encodings, such as speech and music, illuminate sonic information by example, but they are no more sufficient for a characterization than typography is sufficient for characterization of visual information. To develop this new conceptual topic of sonic information structure, we need to integrate insights from a number of different disciplines that deal with sound. In particular, we need to coordinate central and foundational studies of the representational models of sound with specific applications that illuminate the good and bad qualities of these models. Each natural or artificial process that generates informative sound, and each perceptual mechanism that derives information from sound, will teach us something about the right structure to attribute to the sound itself. The new Sound topic will combine the work of computer

Unsound Sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knakkergaard, Martin

2016-01-01

This article discusses the change in premise that digitally produced sound brings about and how digital technologies more generally have changed our relationship to the musical artifact, not simply in degree but in kind. It demonstrates how our acoustical conceptions are thoroughly challenged...... by the digital production of sound and, by questioning the ontological basis for digital sound, turns our understanding of the core term substance upside down....

[Intensive care medicine-survival and prospect of life].

Science.gov (United States)

Valentin, A

2017-10-01

Intensive care medicine has achieved a significant increase in survival rates from critical illness. In addition to short-term outcomes like intensive care unit or hospital mortality, long-term prognosis and prospect of life of intensive care patients have recently become increasingly important. Pure survival is no longer a sole goal of intensive care medicine. The prediction of an intensive care patient's individual course should include the period after intensive care. A relevant proportion of all intensive care patients is affected by physical, psychological, cognitive, and social limitations after discharge from the intensive care unit. The prognosis of the status of the patient after discharge from the intensive care unit is an important part of the decision-making process with respect to the implementation or discontinuation of intensive care measures. The heavy burden of intensive care treatment should not solely be argued by pure survival but an anticipated sound prospect of life.

Early Sound Symbolism for Vowel Sounds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ferrinne Spector

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Children and adults consistently match some words (e.g., kiki to jagged shapes and other words (e.g., bouba to rounded shapes, providing evidence for non-arbitrary sound–shape mapping. In this study, we investigated the influence of vowels on sound–shape matching in toddlers, using four contrasting pairs of nonsense words differing in vowel sound (/i/ as in feet vs. /o/ as in boat and four rounded–jagged shape pairs. Crucially, we used reduplicated syllables (e.g., kiki vs. koko rather than confounding vowel sound with consonant context and syllable variability (e.g., kiki vs. bouba. Toddlers consistently matched words with /o/ to rounded shapes and words with /i/ to jagged shapes (p < 0.01. The results suggest that there may be naturally biased correspondences between vowel sound and shape.

Sound Art and Spatial Practices: Situating Sound Installation Art Since 1958

OpenAIRE

Ouzounian, Gascia

2008-01-01

This dissertation examines the emergence and development ofsound installation art, an under-recognized tradition that hasdeveloped between music, architecture, and media art practicessince the late 1950s. Unlike many musical works, which are concernedwith organizing sounds in time, sound installations organize sounds inspace; they thus necessitate new theoretical and analytical modelsthat take into consideration the spatial situated-ness of sound. Existingdiscourses on “spatial sound” privile...

International Congress on Recent Developments in Air- and Structure-Borne Sound and Vibration, 2nd, Auburn Univ., AL, Mar. 4-6, 1992, Proceedings. Vols. 1-3

Science.gov (United States)

Crocker, Malcolm J. (Editor); Raju, P. K. (Editor)

1992-01-01

The papers presented in this volume cover a variety of topics, including sound intensity, structural intensity, modal analysis and synthesis, statistical energy analysis and energy methods, passive and active damping, and boundary element methods. Attention is also given to diagnostics and condition monitoring, material characterization and nondestructive evaluation, active noise and vibration control, sound radiation and scattering, and finite element analysis.

Sensor network based vehicle classification and license plate identification system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frigo, Janette Rose [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Brennan, Sean M [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Rosten, Edward J [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Raby, Eric Y [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Kulathumani, Vinod K [WEST VIRGINIA UNIV.

2009-01-01

Typically, for energy efficiency and scalability purposes, sensor networks have been used in the context of environmental and traffic monitoring applications in which operations at the sensor level are not computationally intensive. But increasingly, sensor network applications require data and compute intensive sensors such video cameras and microphones. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of two such systems: a vehicle classifier based on acoustic signals and a license plate identification system using a camera. The systems are implemented in an energy-efficient manner to the extent possible using commercially available hardware, the Mica motes and the Stargate platform. Our experience in designing these systems leads us to consider an alternate more flexible, modular, low-power mote architecture that uses a combination of FPGAs, specialized embedded processing units and sensor data acquisition systems.

Mechanisms of Wing Beat Sound in Flapping Wings of Beetles

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, John

2017-11-01

While the aerodynamic aspects of insect flight have received recent attention, the mechanisms of sound production by flapping wings is not well understood. Though the harmonic structure of wing beat frequency modulation has been reported with respect to biological implications, few studies have rigorously quantified it with respect directionality, phase coupling and vortex tip scattering. Moreover, the acoustic detection and classification of invasive species is both of practical as well scientific interest. In this study, the acoustics of the tethered flight of the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros) is investigated with four element microphone array in conjunction with complementary optical sensors and high speed video. The different experimental methods for wing beat determination are compared in both the time and frequency domain. Flow visualization is used to examine the vortex and sound generation due to the torsional mode of the wing rotation. Results are compared with related experimental studies of the Oriental Flower Beetle. USDA, State of Hawaii.

Sounding rocket flight report, MUMP 9 and MUMP 10

Science.gov (United States)

Grassl, H. J.

1971-01-01

The results of the launching of two-Marshall-University of Michigan Probes (MUMP 9 and MUMP 10), Nike-Tomahawk sounding rocket payloads, are summarized. The MUMP is similar to the thermosphere probe, an ejectable instrument package for studying the variability of the earth's atmospheric parameters. The MUMP 9 payload included an omegatron mass analyzer, a molecular fluorescence densitometer, a mini-tilty filter, and a lunar position sensor. This complement of instruments permitted the determination of the molecular nitrogen density and temperature in the altitude range from approximately 143 to 297 km over Wallops Island, Virginia, during January 1971. The MUMP 10 payload included an omegatron mass analyzer, an electron temperature probe, a cryogenic densitometer, and a solar position sensor. These instruments permitted the determination of the molecular nitrogen density and temperature and the charged particle density and temperature in the altitude range from approximately 145 to 290 km over Wallops Island during the afternoon preceding the MUMP 9 launch.

Optical Fiber Grating Hydrogen Sensors: A Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Jixiang; Zhu, Li; Wang, Gaopeng; Xiang, Feng; Qin, Yuhuan; Wang, Min; Yang, Minghong

2017-03-12

In terms of hydrogen sensing and detection, optical fiber hydrogen sensors have been a research issue due to their intrinsic safety and good anti-electromagnetic interference. Among these sensors, hydrogen sensors consisting of fiber grating coated with sensitive materials have attracted intensive research interests due to their good reliability and distributed measurements. This review paper mainly focuses on optical fiber hydrogen sensors associated with fiber gratings and various materials. Their configurations and sensing performances proposed by different groups worldwide are reviewed, compared and discussed in this paper. Meanwhile, the challenges for fiber grating hydrogen sensors are also addressed.

Classification of Reactor Facility Operational State Using SPRT Methods with Radiation Sensor Networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramirez Aviles, Camila A. [ORNL; Rao, Nageswara S. [ORNL

2018-01-01

We consider the problem of inferring the operational state of a reactor facility by using measurements from a radiation sensor network, which is deployed around the facility’s ventilation stack. The radiation emissions from the stack decay with distance, and the corresponding measurements are inherently random with parameters determined by radiation intensity levels at the sensor locations. We fuse measurements from network sensors to estimate the intensity at the stack, and use this estimate in a one-sided Sequential Probability Ratio Test (SPRT) to infer the on/off state of the reactor facility. We demonstrate the superior performance of this method over conventional majority vote fusers and individual sensors using (i) test measurements from a network of NaI sensors, and (ii) emulated measurements using radioactive effluents collected at a reactor facility stack. We analytically quantify the performance improvements of individual sensors and their networks with adaptive thresholds over those with fixed ones, by using the packing number of the radiation intensity space.

Sound a very short introduction

CERN Document Server

Goldsmith, Mike

2015-01-01

Sound is integral to how we experience the world, in the form of noise as well as music. But what is sound? What is the physical basis of pitch and harmony? And how are sound waves exploited in musical instruments? Sound: A Very Short Introduction looks at the science of sound and the behaviour of sound waves with their different frequencies. It also explores sound in different contexts, covering the audible and inaudible, sound underground and underwater, acoustic and electronic sound, and hearing in humans and animals. It concludes with the problem of sound out of place—noise and its reduction.

Wave field synthesis, adaptive wave field synthesis and ambisonics using decentralized transformed control: Potential applications to sound field reproduction and active noise control

Science.gov (United States)

Gauthier, Philippe-Aubert; Berry, Alain; Woszczyk, Wieslaw

2005-09-01

Sound field reproduction finds applications in listening to prerecorded music or in synthesizing virtual acoustics. The objective is to recreate a sound field in a listening environment. Wave field synthesis (WFS) is a known open-loop technology which assumes that the reproduction environment is anechoic. Classical WFS, therefore, does not perform well in a real reproduction space such as room. Previous work has suggested that it is physically possible to reproduce a progressive wave field in-room situation using active control approaches. In this paper, a formulation of adaptive wave field synthesis (AWFS) introduces practical possibilities for an adaptive sound field reproduction combining WFS and active control (with WFS departure penalization) with a limited number of error sensors. AWFS includes WFS and closed-loop ``Ambisonics'' as limiting cases. This leads to the modification of the multichannel filtered-reference least-mean-square (FXLMS) and the filtered-error LMS (FELMS) adaptive algorithms for AWFS. Decentralization of AWFS for sound field reproduction is introduced on the basis of sources' and sensors' radiation modes. Such decoupling may lead to decentralized control of source strength distributions and may reduce computational burden of the FXLMS and the FELMS algorithms used for AWFS. [Work funded by NSERC, NATEQ, Université de Sherbrooke and VRQ.] Ultrasound/Bioresponse to

Virtual sensors for active noise control in acoustic-structural coupled enclosures using structural sensing: part II--Optimization of structural sensor placement.

Science.gov (United States)

Halim, Dunant; Cheng, Li; Su, Zhongqing

2011-04-01

The work proposed an optimization approach for structural sensor placement to improve the performance of vibro-acoustic virtual sensor for active noise control applications. The vibro-acoustic virtual sensor was designed to estimate the interior sound pressure of an acoustic-structural coupled enclosure using structural sensors. A spectral-spatial performance metric was proposed, which was used to quantify the averaged structural sensor output energy of a vibro-acoustic system excited by a spatially varying point source. It was shown that (i) the overall virtual sensing error energy was contributed additively by the modal virtual sensing error and the measurement noise energy; (ii) each of the modal virtual sensing error system was contributed by both the modal observability levels for the structural sensing and the target acoustic virtual sensing; and further (iii) the strength of each modal observability level was influenced by the modal coupling and resonance frequencies of the associated uncoupled structural/cavity modes. An optimal design of structural sensor placement was proposed to achieve sufficiently high modal observability levels for certain important panel- and cavity-controlled modes. Numerical analysis on a panel-cavity system demonstrated the importance of structural sensor placement on virtual sensing and active noise control performance, particularly for cavity-controlled modes.

Testicular echotexture and seminal quality of young Montana Tropical Compound bulls classified as sound and unsound for breeding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rogério Oliveira Pinho

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between testicular echotexture and seminal quality, in addition to evaluate the testicular parenchyma echogenicity pattern in young Montana bulls classified as sound and unsound for breeding. Fifty-two young Montana Tropical Compound bulls from 22 to 33 months of age were used. The animals were previously evaluated by breeding soundness evaluation and thereafter divided into two groups of breeding soundness classes: 1 = 16 animals sound for breeding; 2 = 36 animals unsound for breeding by means of physical and morphological analysis of semen. All animals underwent an ultrasound examination of the testes, and the images were analyzed with the software "Image J". ANOVA was used for statistical analysis, to determine the effect of groups in relation to testicular measurements, physical and morphological semen features and ultrasound pixel analysis. There was a difference between scrotal circumference between classes, with 39.7±2.1 cm and 37.3±3.1 cm for sound and unsound animals, respectively. Regarding testicular echotexture, mean values for the pixel intensity were 95.7 and 94.0 for sound and unsound animals for breeding, respectively, with no difference between the classes. None of the studied parameters were correlated with each other, indicating that the quantification of the pixel intensity in testicular echotexture was not effective in determining the degree of sexual maturity in Montana Tropical Compound bulls.

Design and construction of an optical sensor for liquid level control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Razani, M.; Golnabi, H.; Dabbaghian, M. H.; Dariani, R. S.; Vaziri, N.; Hojabri, A.

2010-01-01

Design and construction of an optical sensor for liquid level control is reported here. Operation of this sensor is based on the intensity modulation. The modulated light intensity is detected by total internal reflection in a prism. The variation of output intensity is measured by an optical detector and is monitored by a digital voltmeter. This optical fiber sensor is used for water level measurement in this experiment. For a white light source, the output voltage in the case of low water level is equal to 480 mV and when the water level reaches to prism reduced to 8 mV. Height measurement accuracy in this system is about ±1mm.

Dual fiber Bragg gratings configuration-based fiber acoustic sensor for low-frequency signal detection

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Dong; Wang, Shun; Lu, Ping; Liu, Deming

2014-11-01

We propose and fabricate a new type fiber acoustic sensor based on dual fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) configuration. The acoustic sensor head is constructed by putting the sensing cells enclosed in an aluminum cylinder space built by two Cband FBGs and a titanium diaphragm of 50 um thickness. One end of each FBG is longitudinally adhered to the diaphragm by UV glue. Both of the two FBGs are employed for reflecting light. The dual FBGs play roles not only as signal transmission system but also as sensing component, and they demodulate each other's optical signal mutually during the measurement. Both of the two FBGs are pre-strained and the output optical power experiences fluctuation in a linear relationship along with a variation of axial strain and surrounding acoustic interference. So a precise approach to measure the frequency and sound pressure of the acoustic disturbance is achieved. Experiments are performed and results show that a relatively flat frequency response in a range from 200 Hz to 1 kHz with the average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) above 21 dB is obtained. The maximum sound pressure sensitivity of 11.35mV/Pa is achieved with the Rsquared value of 0.99131 when the sound pressure in the range of 87.7-106.6dB. It has potential applications in low frequency signal detection. Owing to its direct self-demodulation method, the sensing system reveals the advantages of easy to demodulate, good temperature stability and measurement reliability. Besides, performance of the proposed sensor could be improved by optimizing the parameters of the sensor, especially the diaphragm.

SoundProof: A Smartphone Platform for Wireless Monitoring of Wildlife and Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Lukac, M.; Monibi, M.; Lane, M. L.; Howell, L.; Ramanathan, N.; Borker, A.; McKown, M.; Croll, D.; Terschy, B.

2011-12-01

We are developing an open-source, low-cost wildlife and environmental monitoring solution based on Android smartphones. Using a smartphone instead of a traditional microcontroller or single board computer has several advantages: smartphones are single integrated devices with multiple radios and a battery; they have a robust software interface which enables customization; and are field-tested by millions of users daily. Consequently, smartphones can improve the cost, configurability, and real-time access to data for environmental monitoring, ultimately replacing existing monitoring solutions which are proprietary, difficult to customize, expensive, and require labor-intensive maintenance. While smartphones can radically change environmental and wildlife monitoring, there are a number of technical challenges to address. We present our smartphone-based platform, SoundProof, discuss the challenges of building an autonomous system based on Android phones, and our ongoing efforts to enable environmental monitoring. Our system is built using robust off-the-shelf hardware and mature open-source software where available, to increase scalability and ease of installation. Key features include: * High-quality acoustic signal collection from external microphones to monitor wildlife populations. * Real-time data access, remote programming, and configuration of the field sensor via wireless cellular or WiFi channels, accessible from a website. * Waterproof packaging and solar charger setup for long-term field deployments. * Rich instrumentation of the end-to-end system to quickly identify and debug problems. * Supplementary mesh networking system with long-range wireless antennae to provide coverage when no cell network is available. We have deployed this system to monitor Rufous Crowned Sparrows on Anacapa Island, Chinese Crested Turns on the Matsu Islands in Taiwan, and Ashy Storm Petrels on South East Farallon Island. We have testbeds at two UC Natural Reserves to field

Development of radio acoustic sounding method in Kharkov National University of Radio Electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Proshkin, Y G; Kartashov, V M; Babkin, S I

2008-01-01

The analysis of the role of Kharkov National University of Radio Electronics in developing the atmosphere radio acoustic sounding (RAS) method within the period from 1968 to 2008 was carried out. As a part of the investigation program six experimental models of the sounding radio equipment were developed and manufactured. The atmosphere sounding methods were developed for measuring the base meteorological values. For the first time in the world practice, relevant comparative measurements of air temperature, wind velocity and direction were performed on a short base (about 150 m) using the centimetre RAS equipment and standard sensors of a high (300 m) meteorological mast. The RAS equipment was used for the purpose of meteorological support to investigations in the field of the atmosphere physics and applied problems. All instrumental, atmosphere and social factors, affecting operation the RAS systems, were generalized. It is shown that compact and mobile systems for remote monitoring of the atmospheric boundary layer with possible prompt obtaining of relevant information about base meteorological values in large volumes can be based on the RAS equipment

Active control of aircraft engine inlet noise using compact sound sources and distributed error sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Burdisso, Ricardo (Inventor); Fuller, Chris R. (Inventor); O'Brien, Walter F. (Inventor); Thomas, Russell H. (Inventor); Dungan, Mary E. (Inventor)

1996-01-01

An active noise control system using a compact sound source is effective to reduce aircraft engine duct noise. The fan noise from a turbofan engine is controlled using an adaptive filtered-x LMS algorithm. Single multi channel control systems are used to control the fan blade passage frequency (BPF) tone and the BPF tone and the first harmonic of the BPF tone for a plane wave excitation. A multi channel control system is used to control any spinning mode. The multi channel control system to control both fan tones and a high pressure compressor BPF tone simultaneously. In order to make active control of turbofan inlet noise a viable technology, a compact sound source is employed to generate the control field. This control field sound source consists of an array of identical thin, cylindrically curved panels with an inner radius of curvature corresponding to that of the engine inlet. These panels are flush mounted inside the inlet duct and sealed on all edges to prevent leakage around the panel and to minimize the aerodynamic losses created by the addition of the panels. Each panel is driven by one or more piezoelectric force transducers mounted on the surface of the panel. The response of the panel to excitation is maximized when it is driven at its resonance; therefore, the panel is designed such that its fundamental frequency is near the tone to be canceled, typically 2000-4000 Hz.

Identification of impact force acting on composite laminated plates using the radiated sound measured with microphones

Science.gov (United States)

Atobe, Satoshi; Nonami, Shunsuke; Hu, Ning; Fukunaga, Hisao

2017-09-01

Foreign object impact events are serious threats to composite laminates because impact damage leads to significant degradation of the mechanical properties of the structure. Identification of the location and force history of the impact that was applied to the structure can provide useful information for assessing the structural integrity. This study proposes a method for identifying impact forces acting on CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) laminated plates on the basis of the sound radiated from the impacted structure. Identification of the impact location and force history is performed using the sound pressure measured with microphones. To devise a method for identifying the impact location from the difference in the arrival times of the sound wave detected with the microphones, the propagation path of the sound wave from the impacted point to the sensor is examined. For the identification of the force history, an experimentally constructed transfer matrix is employed to relate the force history to the corresponding sound pressure. To verify the validity of the proposed method, impact tests are conducted by using a CFRP cross-ply laminate as the specimen, and an impulse hammer as the impactor. The experimental results confirm the validity of the present method for identifying the impact location from the arrival time of the sound wave detected with the microphones. Moreover, the results of force history identification show the feasibility of identifying the force history accurately from the measured sound pressure using the experimental transfer matrix.

What is Sound?

OpenAIRE

Nelson, Peter

2014-01-01

What is sound? This question is posed in contradiction to the every-day understanding that sound is a phenomenon apart from us, to be heard, made, shaped and organised. Thinking through the history of computer music, and considering the current configuration of digital communi-cations, sound is reconfigured as a type of network. This network is envisaged as non-hierarchical, in keeping with currents of thought that refuse to prioritise the human in the world. The relationship of sound to musi...

Broadcast sound technology

CERN Document Server

Talbot-Smith, Michael

1990-01-01

Broadcast Sound Technology provides an explanation of the underlying principles of modern audio technology. Organized into 21 chapters, the book first describes the basic sound; behavior of sound waves; aspects of hearing, harming, and charming the ear; room acoustics; reverberation; microphones; phantom power; loudspeakers; basic stereo; and monitoring of audio signal. Subsequent chapters explore the processing of audio signal, sockets, sound desks, and digital audio. Analogue and digital tape recording and reproduction, as well as noise reduction, are also explained.

Propagation of sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wahlberg, Magnus; Larsen, Ole Næsbye

2017-01-01

properties can be modified by sound absorption, refraction, and interference from multi paths caused by reflections.The path from the source to the receiver may be bent due to refraction. Besides geometrical attenuation, the ground effect and turbulence are the most important mechanisms to influence...... communication sounds for airborne acoustics and bottom and surface effects for underwater sounds. Refraction becomes very important close to shadow zones. For echolocation signals, geometric attenuation and sound absorption have the largest effects on the signals....

A novel design of an automatic lighting control system for a wireless sensor network with increased sensor lifetime and reduced sensor numbers.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamaddoust, Reza; Haghighat, Abolfazl Toroghi; Sharif, Mohamad Javad Motahari; Capanni, Niccolo

2011-01-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are currently being applied to energy conservation applications such as light control. We propose a design for such a system called a lighting automatic control system (LACS). The LACS system contains a centralized or distributed architecture determined by application requirements and space usage. The system optimizes the calculations and communications for lighting intensity, incorporates user illumination requirements according to their activities and performs adjustments based on external lighting effects in external sensor and external sensor-less architectures. Methods are proposed for reducing the number of sensors required and increasing the lifetime of those used, for considerably reduced energy consumption. Additionally we suggest methods for improving uniformity of illuminance distribution on a workplane's surface, which improves user satisfaction. Finally simulation results are presented to verify the effectiveness of our design.

Making fictions sound real

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langkjær, Birger

2010-01-01

This article examines the role that sound plays in making fictions perceptually real to film audiences, whether these fictions are realist or non-realist in content and narrative form. I will argue that some aspects of film sound practices and the kind of experiences they trigger are related...... to basic rules of human perception, whereas others are more properly explained in relation to how aesthetic devices, including sound, are used to characterise the fiction and thereby make it perceptually real to its audience. Finally, I will argue that not all genres can be defined by a simple taxonomy...... of sounds. Apart from an account of the kinds of sounds that typically appear in a specific genre, a genre analysis of sound may also benefit from a functionalist approach that focuses on how sounds can make both realist and non-realist aspects of genres sound real to audiences....

Power backup Density based Clustering Algorithm for Maximizing Lifetime of Wireless Sensor Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wagh, Sanjeev; Prasad, Ramjee

2014-01-01

WSNs consists several nodes spread over experimental fields for specific application temporarily. The spatially distributed sensor nodes sense and gather the information for intended parameters like temperature, sound, vibrations, etc for the particular application. In this paper, we evaluate the...

The meaning of city noises: Investigating sound quality in Paris (France)

Science.gov (United States)

Dubois, Daniele; Guastavino, Catherine; Maffiolo, Valerie; Guastavino, Catherine; Maffiolo, Valerie

2004-05-01

The sound quality of Paris (France) was investigated by using field inquiries in actual environments (open questionnaires) and using recordings under laboratory conditions (free-sorting tasks). Cognitive categories of soundscapes were inferred by means of psycholinguistic analyses of verbal data and of mathematical analyses of similarity judgments. Results show that auditory judgments mainly rely on source identification. The appraisal of urban noise therefore depends on the qualitative evaluation of noise sources. The salience of human sounds in public spaces has been demonstrated, in relation to pleasantness judgments: soundscapes with human presence tend to be perceived as more pleasant than soundscapes consisting solely of mechanical sounds. Furthermore, human sounds are qualitatively processed as indicators of human outdoor activities, such as open markets, pedestrian areas, and sidewalk cafe districts that reflect city life. In contrast, mechanical noises (mainly traffic noise) are commonly described in terms of physical properties (temporal structure, intensity) of a permanent background noise that also characterizes urban areas. This connotes considering both quantitative and qualitative descriptions to account for the diversity of cognitive interpretations of urban soundscapes, since subjective evaluations depend both on the meaning attributed to noise sources and on inherent properties of the acoustic signal.

Application of Carbon Nanotube Assemblies for Sound Generation and Heat Dissipation

Science.gov (United States)

Kozlov, Mikhail; Haines, Carter; Oh, Jiyoung; Lima, Marcio; Fang, Shaoli

2011-03-01

Nanotech approaches were explored for the efficient transformation of an electrical signal into sound, heat, cooling action, and mechanical strain. The studies are based on the aligned arrays of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT forests) that can be grown on various substrates using a conventional CVD technique. They form a three-dimensional conductive network that possesses uncommon electrical, thermal, acoustic and mechanical properties. When heated with an alternating current or a near-IR laser modulated in 0.01--20 kHz range, the nanotube forests produce loud, audible sound. High generated sound pressure and broad frequency response (beyond 20 kHz) show that the forests act as efficient thermo-acoustic (TA) transducers. They can generate intense third and fourth TA harmonics that reveal peculiar interference-like patterns from ac-dc voltage scans. A strong dependence of the patterns on forest height can be used for characterization of carbon nanotube assemblies and for evaluation of properties of thermal interfaces. Because of good coupling with surrounding air, the forests provide excellent dissipation of heat produced by IC chips. Thermoacoustic converters based on forests can be used for thermo- and photo-acoustic sound generation, amplification and noise cancellation.

BepiColombo fine sun sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Boslooper, Erik; van der Heiden, Nico; Naron, Daniël.; Schmits, Ruud; van der Velde, Jacob Jan; van Wakeren, Jorrit

2017-11-01

Design, development and verification of the passive Fine Sun Sensor (FSS) for the BepiColombo spacecraft is described. Major challenge in the design is to keep the detector at acceptable temperature levels while exposed to a solar flux intensity exceeding 10 times what is experienced in Earth orbit. A mesh type Heat Rejection Filter has been developed. The overall sensor design and its performance verification program is described.

Sound sensitivity of neurons in rat hippocampus during performance of a sound-guided task

Science.gov (United States)

Vinnik, Ekaterina; Honey, Christian; Schnupp, Jan; Diamond, Mathew E.

2012-01-01

To investigate how hippocampal neurons encode sound stimuli, and the conjunction of sound stimuli with the animal's position in space, we recorded from neurons in the CA1 region of hippocampus in rats while they performed a sound discrimination task. Four different sounds were used, two associated with water reward on the right side of the animal and the other two with water reward on the left side. This allowed us to separate neuronal activity related to sound identity from activity related to response direction. To test the effect of spatial context on sound coding, we trained rats to carry out the task on two identical testing platforms at different locations in the same room. Twenty-one percent of the recorded neurons exhibited sensitivity to sound identity, as quantified by the difference in firing rate for the two sounds associated with the same response direction. Sensitivity to sound identity was often observed on only one of the two testing platforms, indicating an effect of spatial context on sensory responses. Forty-three percent of the neurons were sensitive to response direction, and the probability that any one neuron was sensitive to response direction was statistically independent from its sensitivity to sound identity. There was no significant coding for sound identity when the rats heard the same sounds outside the behavioral task. These results suggest that CA1 neurons encode sound stimuli, but only when those sounds are associated with actions. PMID:22219030

Sound localization in common vampire bats: Acuity and use of the binaural time cue by a small mammal

Science.gov (United States)

Heffner, Rickye S.; Koay, Gimseong; Heffner, Henry E.

2015-01-01

Passive sound-localization acuity and the ability to use binaural time and intensity cues were determined for the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus). The bats were tested using a conditioned suppression/avoidance procedure in which they drank defibrinated blood from a spout in the presence of sounds from their right, but stopped drinking (i.e., broke contact with the spout) whenever a sound came from their left, thereby avoiding a mild shock. The mean minimum audible angle for three bats for a 100-ms noise burst was 13.1°—within the range of thresholds for other bats and near the mean for mammals. Common vampire bats readily localized pure tones of 20 kHz and higher, indicating they could use interaural intensity-differences. They could also localize pure tones of 5 kHz and lower, thereby demonstrating the use of interaural time-differences, despite their very small maximum interaural distance of 60 μs. A comparison of the use of locus cues among mammals suggests several implications for the evolution of sound localization and its underlying anatomical and physiological mechanisms. PMID:25618037

Computerised Analysis of Telemonitored Respiratory Sounds for Predicting Acute Exacerbations of COPD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Angel Fernandez-Granero

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD is one of the commonest causes of death in the world and poses a substantial burden on healthcare systems and patients’ quality of life. The largest component of the related healthcare costs is attributable to admissions due to acute exacerbation (AECOPD. The evidence that might support the effectiveness of the telemonitoring interventions in COPD is limited partially due to the lack of useful predictors for the early detection of AECOPD. Electronic stethoscopes and computerised analyses of respiratory sounds (CARS techniques provide an opportunity for substantial improvement in the management of respiratory diseases. This exploratory study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using: (a a respiratory sensor embedded in a self-tailored housing for ageing users; (b a telehealth framework; (c CARS and (d machine learning techniques for the remote early detection of the AECOPD. In a 6-month pilot study, 16 patients with COPD were equipped with a home base-station and a sensor to daily record their respiratory sounds. Principal component analysis (PCA and a support vector machine (SVM classifier was designed to predict AECOPD. 75.8% exacerbations were early detected with an average of 5 ± 1.9 days in advance at medical attention. The proposed method could provide support to patients, physicians and healthcare systems.

Evaluation of Chewing and Swallowing Sensors for Monitoring Ingestive Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Fontana, Juan M; Sazonov, Edward S

2013-03-01

Monitoring Ingestive Behavior (MIB) of individuals is of special importance to identify and treat eating patterns associated with obesity and eating disorders. Current methods for MIB require subjects reporting every meal consumed, which is burdensome and tend to increase the reporting bias over time. This study presents an evaluation of the burden imposed by two wearable sensors for MIB during unrestricted food intake: a strain sensor to detect chewing events and a throat microphone to detect swallowing sounds. A total of 30 healthy subjects with various levels of adiposity participated in experiments involving the consumption of four meals in four different visits. A questionnaire was handled to subjects at the end of the last visit to evaluate the sensors burden in terms of the comfort levels experienced. Results showed that sensors presented high comfort levels as subjects indicated that the way they ate their meal was not considerably affected by the presence of the sensors. A statistical analysis showed that chewing sensor presented significantly higher comfort levels than the swallowing sensor. The outcomes of this study confirmed the suitability of the chewing and swallowing sensors for MIB and highlighted important aspects of comfort that should be addressed to obtain acceptable and less burdensome wearable sensors for MIB.

Rain Sensor with Stacked Light Waveguide Having Tilted Air Gap

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyoo Nam Choi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Vehicle sensor to detect rain drop on and above waveguide utilizing light deflection and scattering was realized, keeping wide sensing coverage and sensitivity to detect mist accumulation. Proposed sensor structure under stacked light wave guide consisted of light blocking fixture surrounding photodetector and adjacent light source. Tilted air gap between stacked light waveguide and light blocking fixture played major role to increase sensitivity and to enhance linearity. This sensor structure eliminated complex collimating optics, while keeping wide sensing coverage using simple geometry. Detection algorithm based on time-to-intensity transformation process was used to convert raining intensity into countable raining process. Experimental result inside simulated rain chamber showed distinct different response between light rain and normal rain. Application as automobile rain sensor is expected.

Memory for product sounds: the effect of sound and label type.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozcan, Elif; van Egmond, René

2007-11-01

The (mnemonic) interactions between auditory, visual, and the semantic systems have been investigated using structurally complex auditory stimuli (i.e., product sounds). Six types of product sounds (air, alarm, cyclic, impact, liquid, mechanical) that vary in spectral-temporal structure were presented in four label type conditions: self-generated text, text, image, and pictogram. A memory paradigm that incorporated free recall, recognition, and matching tasks was employed. The results for the sound type suggest that the amount of spectral-temporal structure in a sound can be indicative for memory performance. Findings related to label type suggest that 'self' creates a strong bias for the retrieval and the recognition of sounds that were self-labeled; the density and the complexity of the visual information (i.e., pictograms) hinders the memory performance ('visual' overshadowing effect); and image labeling has an additive effect on the recall and matching tasks (dual coding). Thus, the findings suggest that the memory performances for product sounds are task-dependent.

33 CFR 167.1702 - In Prince William Sound: Prince William Sound Traffic Separation Scheme.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false In Prince William Sound: Prince William Sound Traffic Separation Scheme. 167.1702 Section 167.1702 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST....1702 In Prince William Sound: Prince William Sound Traffic Separation Scheme. The Prince William Sound...

Optical fibres sensor based in the intensity switch of a linear laser with two Bragg gratings; Sensor de fibra optica basado en el salto de intensidad de un laser lineal con dos rejillas de Bragg

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Basurto P, M.A.; Kuzin, E.A.; Archundia B, C.; Marroquin, E.; May A, M.; Cerecedo N, H.H.; Sanchez M, J.J. [Departamento de Fotonica y Fisica Optica, Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica y Electronica (INAOE). Apartado Postal 51 y 216, 72000 Puebla (Mexico); Tentori S, D.; Marquez B, I.; Shliagin, M.; Miridonov, S. [Centro de Investigacion CESE (Mexico)

2000-07-01

In this work we propose a new configuration for an optical fiber temperature sensor, based on a linear type Er-doped fiber laser. The laser cavity consists of an Er-doped fiber and two identical Bragg gratings at the fiber ends (working as reflectors). Temperature changes are detected by measuring, through one of the gratings, the intensity variations atthe system's output. When the temperature of one of the Bragg gratings is modified, a wavelength shift of its spectral reflectivity is observed. Hence, the laser emission intensity of the system is modified. We present experimental results of the intensity switch observed when the temperature difference between the gratings detunes their spectral reflectance. Making use of this effect it is possible to develop limit comparators to bound the temperature range for the object under supervision. This limiting work can be performed with a high sensitivity using a very simple interrogation procedure. (Author)

Development of wireless sensor network for landslide monitoring system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suryadi; Puranto, Prabowo; Adinanta, Hendra; Tohari, Adrin; Priambodo, Purnomo S

2017-01-01

A wireless sensor network has been developed to monitor soil movement of some observed areas periodically. The system consists of four nodes and one gateway which installed on a scope area of 0.2 Km 2 . Each of nodehastwo types of sensor,an inclinometer and an extensometer. An inclinometer sensor is used to measure the tilt of a structure while anextensometer sensor is used to measure the displacement of soil movement. Each of nodeisalso supported by awireless communication device, a solar power supply unit, and a microcontroller unit called sensor module. In this system, there is also gateway module as a main communication system consistinga wireless communication device, power supply unit, and rain gauge to measure the rainfall intensity of the observed area. Each sensor of inclinometer and extensometer isconnected to the sensor module in wiring system but sensor module iscommunicating with gateway in a wireless system. Those four nodes are alsoconnectedeach other in a wireless system collecting the data from inclinometer and extensometer sensors. Module Gateway istransmitting the instruction code to each sensor module one by one and collecting the data from them. Gateway module is an important part to communicate with not only sensor modules but also to the server. This wireless system wasdesigned toreducethe electric consumption powered by 80 WP solar panel and 55Ah battery. This system has been implemented in Pangalengan, Bandung, which has high intensity of rainfall and it can be seen on the website. (paper)

Sounds Exaggerate Visual Shape

Science.gov (United States)

Sweeny, Timothy D.; Guzman-Martinez, Emmanuel; Ortega, Laura; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru

2012-01-01

While perceiving speech, people see mouth shapes that are systematically associated with sounds. In particular, a vertically stretched mouth produces a /woo/ sound, whereas a horizontally stretched mouth produces a /wee/ sound. We demonstrate that hearing these speech sounds alters how we see aspect ratio, a basic visual feature that contributes…

Sound Environments Surrounding Preterm Infants Within an Occupied Closed Incubator.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimizu, Aya; Matsuo, Hiroya

2016-01-01

Preterm infants often exhibit functional disorders due to the stressful environment in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The sound pressure level (SPL) in the NICU is often much higher than the levels recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Our study aims to describe the SPL and sound frequency levels surrounding preterm infants within closed incubators that utilize high frequency oscillation (HFO) or nasal directional positive airway pressure (nasal-DPAP) respiratory settings. This is a descriptive research study of eight preterm infants (corrected agenoise levels were observed and the results were compared to the recommendations made by neonatal experts. Increased noise levels, which have reported to affect neonates' ability to self-regulate, could increase the risk of developing attention deficit disorder, and may result in tachycardia, bradycardia, increased intracranial pressure, and hypoxia. The care provider should closely assess for adverse effects of higher sound levels generated by different modes of respiratory support and take measures to ensure that preterm infants are protected from exposure to noise exceeding the optimal safe levels. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sound Zones

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Martin Bo; Olsen, Martin

2017-01-01

Sound zones, i.e. spatially confined regions of individual audio content, can be created by appropriate filtering of the desired audio signals reproduced by an array of loudspeakers. The challenge of designing filters for sound zones is twofold: First, the filtered responses should generate...... an acoustic separation between the control regions. Secondly, the pre- and post-ringing as well as spectral deterioration introduced by the filters should be minimized. The tradeoff between acoustic separation and filter ringing is the focus of this paper. A weighted L2-norm penalty is introduced in the sound...

Can road traffic mask sound from wind turbines? Response to wind turbine sound at different levels of road traffic sound

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pedersen, Eja; Berg, Frits van den; Bakker, Roel; Bouma, Jelte

2010-01-01

Wind turbines are favoured in the switch-over to renewable energy. Suitable sites for further developments could be difficult to find as the sound emitted from the rotor blades calls for a sufficient distance to residents to avoid negative effects. The aim of this study was to explore if road traffic sound could mask wind turbine sound or, in contrast, increases annoyance due to wind turbine noise. Annoyance of road traffic and wind turbine noise was measured in the WINDFARMperception survey in the Netherlands in 2007 (n=725) and related to calculated levels of sound. The presence of road traffic sound did not in general decrease annoyance with wind turbine noise, except when levels of wind turbine sound were moderate (35-40 dB(A) Lden) and road traffic sound level exceeded that level with at least 20 dB(A). Annoyance with both noises was intercorrelated but this correlation was probably due to the influence of individual factors. Furthermore, visibility and attitude towards wind turbines were significantly related to noise annoyance of modern wind turbines. The results can be used for the selection of suitable sites, possibly favouring already noise exposed areas if wind turbine sound levels are sufficiently low.

CTD and sound speed profile data acquired in support of hydrographic multibeam surveys to meet NOAA/NOS, Office of Coast Survey charting requirements

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Multiple sensors are used to acquire sound speed profiles in the survey areas assigned to the ships and navigation response teams. Some vessels have CTDs and acquire...

Structure-borne sound structural vibrations and sound radiation at audio frequencies

CERN Document Server

Cremer, L; Petersson, Björn AT

2005-01-01

Structure-Borne Sound"" is a thorough introduction to structural vibrations with emphasis on audio frequencies and the associated radiation of sound. The book presents in-depth discussions of fundamental principles and basic problems, in order to enable the reader to understand and solve his own problems. It includes chapters dealing with measurement and generation of vibrations and sound, various types of structural wave motion, structural damping and its effects, impedances and vibration responses of the important types of structures, as well as with attenuation of vibrations, and sound radi

A Novel Design of an Automatic Lighting Control System for a Wireless Sensor Network with Increased Sensor Lifetime and Reduced Sensor Numbers

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamaddoust, Reza; Haghighat, Abolfazl Toroghi; Sharif, Mohamad Javad Motahari; Capanni, Niccolo

2011-01-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are currently being applied to energy conservation applications such as light control. We propose a design for such a system called a Lighting Automatic Control System (LACS). The LACS system contains a centralized or distributed architecture determined by application requirements and space usage. The system optimizes the calculations and communications for lighting intensity, incorporates user illumination requirements according to their activities and performs adjustments based on external lighting effects in external sensor and external sensor-less architectures. Methods are proposed for reducing the number of sensors required and increasing the lifetime of those used, for considerably reduced energy consumption. Additionally we suggest methods for improving uniformity of illuminance distribution on a workplane’s surface, which improves user satisfaction. Finally simulation results are presented to verify the effectiveness of our design. PMID:22164114

InfoSound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sonnenwald, Diane H.; Gopinath, B.; Haberman, Gary O.

1990-01-01

The authors explore ways to enhance users' comprehension of complex applications using music and sound effects to present application-program events that are difficult to detect visually. A prototype system, Infosound, allows developers to create and store musical sequences and sound effects with...

Active control of turbulent boundary layer-induced sound transmission through the cavity-backed double panels

Science.gov (United States)

Caiazzo, A.; Alujević, N.; Pluymers, B.; Desmet, W.

2018-05-01

This paper presents a theoretical study of active control of turbulent boundary layer (TBL) induced sound transmission through the cavity-backed double panels. The aerodynamic model used is based on the Corcos wall pressure distribution. The structural-acoustic model encompasses a source panel (skin panel), coupled through an acoustic cavity to the radiating panel (trim panel). The radiating panel is backed by a larger acoustic enclosure (the back cavity). A feedback control unit is located inside the acoustic cavity between the two panels. It consists of a control force actuator and a sensor mounted at the actuator footprint on the radiating panel. The control actuator can react off the source panel. It is driven by an amplified velocity signal measured by the sensor. A fully coupled analytical structural-acoustic model is developed to study the effects of the active control on the sound transmission into the back cavity. The stability and performance of the active control system are firstly studied on a reduced order model. In the reduced order model only two fundamental modes of the fully coupled system are assumed. Secondly, a full order model is considered with a number of modes large enough to yield accurate simulation results up to 1000 Hz. It is shown that convincing reductions of the TBL-induced vibrations of the radiating panel and the sound pressure inside the back cavity can be expected. The reductions are more pronounced for a certain class of systems, which is characterised by the fundamental natural frequency of the skin panel larger than the fundamental natural frequency of the trim panel.

The Sound of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Merwade, Venkatesh; Eichinger, David; Harriger, Bradley; Doherty, Erin; Habben, Ryan

2014-01-01

While the science of sound can be taught by explaining the concept of sound waves and vibrations, the authors of this article focused their efforts on creating a more engaging way to teach the science of sound--through engineering design. In this article they share the experience of teaching sound to third graders through an engineering challenge…

Electronics for artists adding light, motion, and sound to your artwork

CERN Document Server

Field, Simon Quellen

2015-01-01

With today's modern technology-LEDs, servomotors, motion sensors, speakers, and more-artwork can incorporate elements of light, sound, and motion for dramatic effects. Author and educator Simon Quellen Field has developed a primer for creative individuals looking for new ways to express themselves though electronically enhanced art. Following step-by-step examples of basic circuitry and programming, readers can develop the skills necessary to enhance their works of art. The book also features art projects to try, including a bouquet of glowing flowers, an LED metronome, a talking computer, a s

Development of a Meso-Scale Fiberoptic Rotation Sensor for a Torsion Actuator.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheng, Jun; Desai, Jaydev P

2018-01-01

This paper presents the development of a meso-scale fiberoptic rotation sensor for a shape memory alloy (SMA) torsion actuator for neurosurgical applications. Within the sensor, a rotary head with a reflecting surface is capable of modulating the light intensity collected by optical fibers when the rotary head is coupled to the torsion actuator. The mechanism of light intensity modulation is modeled, followed by experimental model verification. Meanwhile, working performances for different rotary head designs, optical fibers, and fabrication materials are compared. After the calibration of the fiberoptic rotation sensor, the sensor is capable of precisely measuring rotary motion and controlling the SMA torsion actuator with feedback control.

Superior analgesic effect of an active distraction versus pleasant unfamiliar sounds and music

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garza Villarreal, Eduardo A.; Brattico, Elvira; Vase, Lene

2012-01-01

Previous studies have shown a superior analgesic effect of favorite music over other passive or active distractive tasks. However, it is unclear what mediates this effect. In this study we investigated to which extent distraction, emotional valence and cognitive styles may explain part...... questionnaires concerning cognitive styles (Baron – Cohen and self-report). Active distraction with PASAT led to significantly less pain intensity and unpleasantness as compared to music and sound. In turn, both music and sound relieved pain significantly more than noise. When music and sound had the same level...... of valence they relieved pain to a similar degree. The emotional ratings of the conditions were correlated with the amount of pain relief and cognitive styles seemed to influence the analgesia effect. These findings suggest that the pain relieving effect previously seen in relation to music may be at least...

Potential beneficial effects of electron-hole plasmas created in silicon sensors by XFEL-like high intensity pulses for detector development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weiss, Joel T.; Becker, Julian; Shanks, Katherine S.; Philipp, Hugh T.; Tate, Mark W. [Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Gruner, Sol M., E-mail: smg26@cornell.edu [Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States)

2016-07-27

There is a compelling need for a high frame rate imaging detector with a wide dynamic range, from single x-rays/pixel/pulse to >10{sup 6} x-rays/pixel/pulse, that is capable of operating at both x-ray free electron laser (XFEL) and 3rd generation sources with sustained fluxes of > 10{sup 11} x-rays/pixel/s [1, 2, 3]. We propose to meet these requirements with the High Dynamic Range Pixel Array Detector (HDR-PAD) by (a) increasing the speed of charge removal strategies [4], (b) increasing integrator range by implementing adaptive gain [5], and (c) exploiting the extended charge collection times of electron-hole pair plasma clouds that form when a sufficiently large number of x-rays are absorbed in a detector sensor in a short period of time [6]. We have developed a measurement platform similar to the one used in [6] to study the effects of high electron-hole densities in silicon sensors using optical lasers to emulate the conditions found at XFELs. Characterizations of the employed tunable wavelength laser with picosecond pulse duration have shown Gaussian focal spots sizes of 6 ± 1 µm rms over the relevant spectrum and 2 to 3 orders of magnitude increase in available intensity compared to previous measurements presented in [6]. Results from measurements on a typical pixelated silicon diode intended for use with the HDR-PAD (150 µm pixel size, 500 µm thick sensor) are presented.

Speech masking and cancelling and voice obscuration

Science.gov (United States)

Holzrichter, John F.

2013-09-10

A non-acoustic sensor is used to measure a user's speech and then broadcasts an obscuring acoustic signal diminishing the user's vocal acoustic output intensity and/or distorting the voice sounds making them unintelligible to persons nearby. The non-acoustic sensor is positioned proximate or contacting a user's neck or head skin tissue for sensing speech production information.

Evaluation of Routine Atmospheric Sounding Measurements using Unmanned Systems (ERASMUS)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bland, Geoffrey [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)

2016-06-30

The use of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) with miniature sensor systems for atmospheric research is an important capability to develop. The Evaluation of Routine Atmospheric Sounding Measurements using Unmanned Systems (ERASMUS) project, lead by Dr. Gijs de Boer of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES- a partnership of NOAA and CU-Boulder), is a significant milestone in realizing this new potential. This project has clearly demonstrated that the concept of sUAS utilization is valid, and miniature instrumentation can be used to further our understanding of the atmospheric boundary layer in the arctic.

Light and Sound

CERN Document Server

Karam, P Andrew

2010-01-01

Our world is largely defined by what we see and hear-but our uses for light and sound go far beyond simply seeing a photo or hearing a song. A concentrated beam of light, lasers are powerful tools used in industry, research, and medicine, as well as in everyday electronics like DVD and CD players. Ultrasound, sound emitted at a high frequency, helps create images of a developing baby, cleans teeth, and much more. Light and Sound teaches how light and sound work, how they are used in our day-to-day lives, and how they can be used to learn about the universe at large.

Precision measurement of the speed of sound and thermodynamic properties of gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benedetto, G.; Gavioso, R.M.; Spagnolo, R.

1999-01-01

The speed of sound in pure fluids and mixtures is a characteristic and important physical propriety which depends of several intensive thermodynamic variables. This fact indicates that it can be calculated using the appropriate thermodynamic properties of the fluid. Alternatively, experimental evaluation of the speed of sound can be used to determine several fundamental thermophysical properties. Recently, very accurate measurements of the speed of sound in dilute gases have found relevant applications: 1) the last experimental determinations of the value of the universal gas constant R, by measurements in argon, at the triple point of water (1,2); 2) revision of the thermodynamic temperature scales in different temperature ranges (3-5); 3) derivation of the state of many pure gases, which includes methane, helium and ethylene (6-7); 4)determination of the heat capacities and densities of pure gases and mixture (8-16). The aim of this paper is to provide an extensive review of the measurement of the speed of sound in gases and of its theoretical basis, giving prominence to the relevant metrological aspects involved in the determination of this physical quantity

The Textile Form of Sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bendixen, Cecilie

Sound is a part of architecture, and sound is complex. Upon this, sound is invisible. How is it then possible to design visual objects that interact with the sound? This paper addresses the problem of how to get access to the complexity of sound and how to make textile material revealing the form...... goemetry by analysing the sound pattern at a specific spot. This analysis is done theoretically with algorithmic systems and practical with waves in water. The paper describes the experiments and the findings, and explains how an analysis of sound can be catched in a textile form....

Reduction of heart sound interference from lung sound signals using empirical mode decomposition technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Mondal, Ashok; Bhattacharya, P S; Saha, Goutam

2011-01-01

During the recording time of lung sound (LS) signals from the chest wall of a subject, there is always heart sound (HS) signal interfering with it. This obscures the features of lung sound signals and creates confusion on pathological states, if any, of the lungs. A novel method based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD) technique is proposed in this paper for reducing the undesired heart sound interference from the desired lung sound signals. In this, the mixed signal is split into several components. Some of these components contain larger proportions of interfering signals like heart sound, environmental noise etc. and are filtered out. Experiments have been conducted on simulated and real-time recorded mixed signals of heart sound and lung sound. The proposed method is found to be superior in terms of time domain, frequency domain, and time-frequency domain representations and also in listening test performed by pulmonologist.

Use of a mobile phone for potentiostatic control with low cost paper-based microfluidic sensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Delaney, Jacqui L.; Doeven, Egan H.; Harsant, Anthony J.; Hogan, Conor F., E-mail: c.hogan@latrobe.edu.au

2013-08-06

Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •The ability to generate ECL emission using the audio output of a mobile phone is demonstrated. •Electrochemical control can be achieved by controlling the amplitude and waveform of the sound. •A mobile phone “app” synchronises the electrochemical stimulation with detection via the camera. •In combination with paper-based microfluidic sensors, extremely low cost analysis is possible. •Detection of proline at levels suitable for diagnosis of hyperprolinemia is demonstrated. -- Abstract: By exploiting its ability to play sounds, a mobile phone with suitable software installed can serve the basic functions of a potentiostat in controlling an applied potential to oxidise ECL-active molecules, while the resultant photonic signal is monitored using the camera in video mode. In combination with paper microfluidic sensors this opens significant new possibilities for low-cost, instrument-free sensing.

Use of a mobile phone for potentiostatic control with low cost paper-based microfluidic sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delaney, Jacqui L.; Doeven, Egan H.; Harsant, Anthony J.; Hogan, Conor F.

2013-01-01

Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •The ability to generate ECL emission using the audio output of a mobile phone is demonstrated. •Electrochemical control can be achieved by controlling the amplitude and waveform of the sound. •A mobile phone “app” synchronises the electrochemical stimulation with detection via the camera. •In combination with paper-based microfluidic sensors, extremely low cost analysis is possible. •Detection of proline at levels suitable for diagnosis of hyperprolinemia is demonstrated. -- Abstract: By exploiting its ability to play sounds, a mobile phone with suitable software installed can serve the basic functions of a potentiostat in controlling an applied potential to oxidise ECL-active molecules, while the resultant photonic signal is monitored using the camera in video mode. In combination with paper microfluidic sensors this opens significant new possibilities for low-cost, instrument-free sensing

Sound generator

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhoff, Arthur P.

2008-01-01

A sound generator, particularly a loudspeaker, configured to emit sound, comprising a rigid element (2) enclosing a plurality of air compartments (3), wherein the rigid element (2) has a back side (B) comprising apertures (4), and a front side (F) that is closed, wherein the generator is provided

Sound generator

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhoff, Arthur P.

2010-01-01

A sound generator, particularly a loudspeaker, configured to emit sound, comprising a rigid element (2) enclosing a plurality of air compartments (3), wherein the rigid element (2) has a back side (B) comprising apertures (4), and a front side (F) that is closed, wherein the generator is provided

Sound generator

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhoff, Arthur P.

2007-01-01

A sound generator, particularly a loudspeaker, configured to emit sound, comprising a rigid element (2) enclosing a plurality of air compartments (3), wherein the rigid element (2) has a back side (B) comprising apertures (4), and a front side (F) that is closed, wherein the generator is provided

Sounding rocket flight report: MUMP 9 and MUMP 10

Science.gov (United States)

Grassl, H. J.

1971-01-01

The results of the launching of two Marshall-University of Michigan Probes (MUMP 9 and MUMP 10), Nike-Tomahawk sounding rocket payloads, are summarized. The MUMP 9 paylaod included an omegatron mass analyzer, a molecular fluorescence densitometer, a mini-tilty filter, and a lunar position sensor. This complement of instruments permitted the determination of the molecular nitrogen density and temperature in the altitude range from approximately 143 to 297 km over Wallops Island, Virginia, during January 1971. The MUMP 10 payload included an omegatron mass analyzer, an electron temperature probe (Spencer, Brace, and Carignan, 1962), a cryogenic densitometer, and a solar position sensor. This complement of instruments permitted the determination of the molecular nitrogen density and temperature and the charged particle density and temperature in the altitude range from approximately 145 to 290 km over Wallops Island, Virginia, during the afternoon preceding the MUMP 9 launch in January 1971. A general description of the payload kinematics, orientation analysis, and the technique for the reduction and analysis of the data is given.

NASA Space Sounds API

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — NASA has released a series of space sounds via sound cloud. We have abstracted away some of the hassle in accessing these sounds, so that developers can play with...

Low-frequency sound exposure causes reversible long-term changes of cochlear transfer characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Drexl, Markus; Otto, Larissa; Wiegrebe, Lutz; Marquardt, Torsten; Gürkov, Robert; Krause, Eike

2016-02-01

Intense, low-frequency sound presented to the mammalian cochlea induces temporary changes of cochlear sensitivity, for which the term 'Bounce' phenomenon has been coined. Typical manifestations are slow oscillations of hearing thresholds or the level of otoacoustic emissions. It has been suggested that these alterations are caused by changes of the mechano-electrical transducer transfer function of outer hair cells (OHCs). Shape estimates of this transfer function can be derived from low-frequency-biased distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE). Here, we tracked the transfer function estimates before and after triggering a cochlear Bounce. Specifically, cubic DPOAEs, modulated by a low-frequency biasing tone, were followed over time before and after induction of the cochlear Bounce. Most subjects showed slow, biphasic changes of the transfer function estimates after low-frequency sound exposure relative to the preceding control period. Our data show that the operating point changes biphasically on the transfer function with an initial shift away from the inflection point followed by a shift towards the inflection point before returning to baseline values. Changes in transfer function and operating point lasted for about 180 s. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that intense, low-frequency sound disturbs regulatory mechanisms in OHCs. The homeostatic readjustment of these mechanisms after low-frequency offset is reflected in slow oscillations of the estimated transfer functions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An Intelligent Four-Electrode Conductivity Sensor for Aquaculture

OpenAIRE

Zhang , Jiaran; Li , Daoliang; Wang , Cong; Ding , Qisheng

2012-01-01

International audience; Conductivity is regard as a key technical parameter in modern intensive fish farming management. The water conductivity sensors are sophisticated devices used in the aquaculture monitoring field to understand the effects of climate changes on fish ponds. In this paper a new four-electrode smart sensor is proposed for water conductivity measurements of aquaculture monitoring.The main advantages of these sensors include a high precision, a good stability and an intrinsic...

Consistent Steering System using SCTP for Bluetooth Scatternet Sensor Network

Science.gov (United States)

Dhaya, R.; Sadasivam, V.; Kanthavel, R.

2012-12-01

Wireless communication is the best way to convey information from source to destination with flexibility and mobility and Bluetooth is the wireless technology suitable for short distance. On the other hand a wireless sensor network (WSN) consists of spatially distributed autonomous sensors to cooperatively monitor physical or environmental conditions, such as temperature, sound, vibration, pressure, motion or pollutants. Using Bluetooth piconet wireless technique in sensor nodes creates limitation in network depth and placement. The introduction of Scatternet solves the network restrictions with lack of reliability in data transmission. When the depth of the network increases, it results in more difficulties in routing. No authors so far focused on the reliability factors of Scatternet sensor network's routing. This paper illustrates the proposed system architecture and routing mechanism to increase the reliability. The another objective is to use reliable transport protocol that uses the multi-homing concept and supports multiple streams to prevent head-of-line blocking. The results show that the Scatternet sensor network has lower packet loss even in the congestive environment than the existing system suitable for all surveillance applications.

Optimization strategy for actuator and sensor placement in active structural acoustic control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oude nijhuis, M.H.H.; de Boer, Andries

2003-01-01

In active structural acoustic control the goal is to reduce the sound radiation of a structure by means of changing the vibrational behaviour of that structure. The performance of such an active control system is to a large extent determined by the locations of the actuators and sensors. In this

Aplikasi Musik Orkestra Angklung Multi Oktaf Berbasis Android Dengan Sensor Accelerometer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mardiyono Mardiyono

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The development of android application of music instrument called Angklung is explored in several features and techniques. Previous applications allow the user to play angklung by touching and shaking, learn, answer the quiz, customize the application environment such as changing the background sound, character asset, etc. There are the problems of android angklung application including the amount of tones generally 1 octave, utilizing of accelerometer sensor, and recording system. This paper describes the development of angklung android multi octaves using accelerometer sensor. The method used is waterfall involving requirements definition, system and software design, implementation and unit testing, integration and system testing and operational and maintenance. The application is tested each functionalities (black box and questionnaire. The result show that the application has successfully worked in android device (Jelly Bean, Kit Kat and Lollipop that provides the innovations features to play angklung in 18 tones, play different octave by shaking the device in different way, and record the angklung orchestra sound using android. Based on the questionnaire result, the user satisfaction rate is 82.8%.

Sensitive zone parameters and curvature radius evaluation for polymer optical fiber curvature sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Leal-Junior, Arnaldo G.; Frizera, Anselmo; José Pontes, Maria

2018-03-01

Polymer optical fibers (POFs) are suitable for applications such as curvature sensors, strain, temperature, liquid level, among others. However, for enhancing sensitivity, many polymer optical fiber curvature sensors based on intensity variation require a lateral section. Lateral section length, depth, and surface roughness have great influence on the sensor sensitivity, hysteresis, and linearity. Moreover, the sensor curvature radius increase the stress on the fiber, which leads on variation of the sensor behavior. This paper presents the analysis relating the curvature radius and lateral section length, depth and surface roughness with the sensor sensitivity, hysteresis and linearity for a POF curvature sensor. Results show a strong correlation between the decision parameters behavior and the performance for sensor applications based on intensity variation. Furthermore, there is a trade-off among the sensitive zone length, depth, surface roughness, and curvature radius with the sensor desired performance parameters, which are minimum hysteresis, maximum sensitivity, and maximum linearity. The optimization of these parameters is applied to obtain a sensor with sensitivity of 20.9 mV/°, linearity of 0.9992 and hysteresis below 1%, which represent a better performance of the sensor when compared with the sensor without the optimization.

A wearable mobility device for the blind using retina-inspired dynamic vision sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghaderi, Viviane S; Mulas, Marcello; Pereira, Vinicius Felisberto Santos; Everding, Lukas; Weikersdorfer, David; Conradt, Jorg

2015-01-01

Proposed is a prototype of a wearable mobility device which aims to assist the blind with navigation and object avoidance via auditory-vision-substitution. The described system uses two dynamic vision sensors and event-based information processing techniques to extract depth information. The 3D visual input is then processed using three different strategies, and converted to a 3D output sound using an individualized head-related transfer function. The performance of the device with different processing strategies is evaluated via initial tests with ten subjects. The outcome of these tests demonstrate promising performance of the system after only very short training times of a few minutes due to the minimal encoding of outputs from the vision sensors which are translated into simple sound patterns easily interpretable for the user. The envisioned system will allow for efficient real-time algorithms on a hands-free and lightweight device with exceptional battery life-time.

Sound Insulation between Dwellings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Birgit

2011-01-01

Regulatory sound insulation requirements for dwellings exist in more than 30 countries in Europe. In some countries, requirements have existed since the 1950s. Findings from comparative studies show that sound insulation descriptors and requirements represent a high degree of diversity...... and initiate – where needed – improvement of sound insulation of new and existing dwellings in Europe to the benefit of the inhabitants and the society. A European COST Action TU0901 "Integrating and Harmonizing Sound Insulation Aspects in Sustainable Urban Housing Constructions", has been established and runs...... 2009-2013. The main objectives of TU0901 are to prepare proposals for harmonized sound insulation descriptors and for a European sound classification scheme with a number of quality classes for dwellings. Findings from the studies provide input for the discussions in COST TU0901. Data collected from 24...

Optical and Acoustic Sensor-Based 3D Ball Motion Estimation for Ball Sport Simulators †

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sang-Woo Seo

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Estimation of the motion of ball-shaped objects is essential for the operation of ball sport simulators. In this paper, we propose an estimation system for 3D ball motion, including speed and angle of projection, by using acoustic vector and infrared (IR scanning sensors. Our system is comprised of three steps to estimate a ball motion: sound-based ball firing detection, sound source localization, and IR scanning for motion analysis. First, an impulsive sound classification based on the mel-frequency cepstrum and feed-forward neural network is introduced to detect the ball launch sound. An impulsive sound source localization using a 2D microelectromechanical system (MEMS microphones and delay-and-sum beamforming is presented to estimate the firing position. The time and position of a ball in 3D space is determined from a high-speed infrared scanning method. Our experimental results demonstrate that the estimation of ball motion based on sound allows a wider activity area than similar camera-based methods. Thus, it can be practically applied to various simulations in sports such as soccer and baseball.

Optimization of low-frequency low-intensity ultrasound-mediated microvessel disruption on prostate cancer xenografts in nude mice using an orthogonal experimental design.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Y U; Bai, Wenkun; Chen, Yini; Lin, Yanduan; Hu, Bing

2015-11-01

The present study aimed to provide a complete exploration of the effect of sound intensity, frequency, duty cycle, microbubble volume and irradiation time on low-frequency low-intensity ultrasound (US)-mediated microvessel disruption, and to identify an optimal combination of the five factors that maximize the blockage effect. An orthogonal experimental design approach was used. Enhanced US imaging and acoustic quantification were performed to assess tumor blood perfusion. In the confirmatory test, in addition to acoustic quantification, the specimens of the tumor were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and observed using light microscopy. The results revealed that sound intensity, frequency, duty cycle, microbubble volume and irradiation time had a significant effect on the average peak intensity (API). The extent of the impact of the variables on the API was in the following order: Sound intensity; frequency; duty cycle; microbubble volume; and irradiation time. The optimum conditions were found to be as follows: Sound intensity, 1.00 W/cm 2 ; frequency, 20 Hz; duty cycle, 40%; microbubble volume, 0.20 ml; and irradiation time, 3 min. In the confirmatory test, the API was 19.97±2.66 immediately subsequent to treatment, and histological examination revealed signs of tumor blood vessel injury in the optimum parameter combination group. In conclusion, the Taguchi L 18 (3) 6 orthogonal array design was successfully applied for determining the optimal parameter combination of API following treatment. Under the optimum orthogonal design condition, a minimum API of 19.97±2.66 subsequent to low-frequency and low-intensity mediated blood perfusion blockage was obtained.

Remembering that big things sound big: Sound symbolism and associative memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Preziosi, Melissa A; Coane, Jennifer H

2017-01-01

According to sound symbolism theory, individual sounds or clusters of sounds can convey meaning. To examine the role of sound symbolic effects on processing and memory for nonwords, we developed a novel set of 100 nonwords to convey largeness (nonwords containing plosive consonants and back vowels) and smallness (nonwords containing fricative consonants and front vowels). In Experiments 1A and 1B, participants rated the size of the 100 nonwords and provided definitions to them as if they were products. Nonwords composed of fricative/front vowels were rated as smaller than those composed of plosive/back vowels. In Experiment 2, participants studied sound symbolic congruent and incongruent nonword and participant-generated definition pairings. Definitions paired with nonwords that matched the size and participant-generated meanings were recalled better than those that did not match. When the participant-generated definitions were re-paired with other nonwords, this mnemonic advantage was reduced, although still reliable. In a final free association study, the possibility that plosive/back vowel and fricative/front vowel nonwords elicit sound symbolic size effects due to mediation from word neighbors was ruled out. Together, these results suggest that definitions that are sound symbolically congruent with a nonword are more memorable than incongruent definition-nonword pairings. This work has implications for the creation of brand names and how to create brand names that not only convey desired product characteristics, but also are memorable for consumers.

An Underwater Acoustic Vector Sensor with High Sensitivity and Broad Band

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hu Zhang

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Recently, acoustic vector sensor that use accelerators as sensing elements are widely used in underwater acoustic engineering, but the sensitivity of which at low frequency band is usually lower than -220 dB. In this paper, using a piezoelectric trilaminar optimized low frequency sensing element, we designed a high sensitivity internal placed ICP piezoelectric accelerometer as sensing element. Through structure optimization, we made a high sensitivity, broadband, small scale vector sensor. The working band is 10-2000 Hz, sound pressure sensitivity is -185 dB (at 100 Hz, outer diameter is 42 mm, length is 80 mm.

An Antropologist of Sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Groth, Sanne Krogh

2015-01-01

PROFESSOR PORTRAIT: Sanne Krogh Groth met Holger Schulze, newly appointed professor in Musicology at the Department for Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen, to a talk about anthropology of sound, sound studies, musical canons and ideology.......PROFESSOR PORTRAIT: Sanne Krogh Groth met Holger Schulze, newly appointed professor in Musicology at the Department for Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen, to a talk about anthropology of sound, sound studies, musical canons and ideology....

pH Mapping on Tooth Surfaces for Quantitative Caries Diagnosis Using Micro Ir/IrOx pH Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Ratanaporncharoen, Chindanai; Tabata, Miyuki; Kitasako, Yuichi; Ikeda, Masaomi; Goda, Tatsuro; Matsumoto, Akira; Tagami, Junji; Miyahara, Yuji

2018-04-03

A quantitative diagnostic method for dental caries would improve oral health, which directly affects the quality of life. Here we describe the preparation and application of Ir/IrOx pH sensors, which are used to measure the surface pH of dental caries. The pH level is used as an indicator to distinguish between active and arrested caries. After a dentist visually inspected and defined 18 extracted dentinal caries at various positions as active or arrested caries, the surface pH values of sound and caries areas were directly measured with an Ir/IrOx pH sensor with a diameter of 300 μm as a dental explorer. The average pH values of the sound root, the arrested caries, and active caries were 6.85, 6.07, and 5.30, respectively. The pH obtained with an Ir/IrOx sensor was highly correlated with the inspection results by the dentist, indicating that the types of caries were successfully categorized. This caries testing technique using a micro Ir/IrOx pH sensor provides an accurate quantitative caries evaluation and has potential in clinical diagnosis.

Namibian Flood Early Warning SensorWeb Pilot

Science.gov (United States)

Mandl, Daniel; Policelli, Fritz; Frye, Stuart; Cappelare, Pat; Langenhove, Guido Van; Szarzynski, Joerg; Sohlberg, Rob

2010-01-01

The major goal of the Namibia SensorWeb Pilot Project is a scientifically sound, operational trans-boundary flood management decision support system for Southern African region to provide useful flood and waterborne disease forecasting tools for local decision makers. The Pilot Project established under the auspices of: Namibian Ministry of Agriculture Water and Forestry (MAWF), Department of Water Affairs; Committee on Earth Observing Satellites (CEOS), Working Group on Information Systems and Services (WGISS); and moderated by the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER). The effort consists of identifying and prototyping technology which enables the rapid gathering and dissemination of both space-based and ground sensor data and data products for the purpose of flood disaster management and water-borne disease management.

Evaluation of swallowing ability using swallowing sounds in maxillectomy patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamiyanagi, A; Sumita, Y; Ino, S; Chikai, M; Nakane, A; Tohara, H; Minakuchi, S; Seki, Y; Endo, H; Taniguchi, H

2018-02-01

Maxillectomy for oral tumours often results in debilitating oral hypofunction, which markedly decreases quality of life. Dysphagia, in particular, is one of the most serious problems following maxillectomy. This study used swallowing sounds as a simple evaluation method to evaluate swallowing ability in maxillectomy patients with and without their obturator prosthesis placed. Twenty-seven maxillectomy patients (15 men, 12 women; mean age 66.0 ± 12.1 years) and 30 healthy controls (14 men, 16 women; mean age 44.9 ± 21.3 years) were recruited for this study. Participants were asked to swallow 4 mL of water, and swallowing sounds were recorded using a throat microphone. Duration of the acoustic signal and duration of peak intensity (DPI) were measured. Duration of peak intensity was significantly longer in maxillectomy patients without their obturator than with it (P maxillectomy patients without their obturator than in healthy controls (P maxillectomy patients who had undergone soft palate resection than in those who had not (P maxillectomy patients could be improved by wearing an obturator prosthesis, particularly during the oral stage. However, it is difficult to improve the oral stage of swallowing in patients who have undergone soft palate resection even with obturator placement. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Determination of Noise Level and Its Sources in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Neonatal Ward

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Mahdi Jahangir Blourchian

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Background: In Neonatal intensive care units (NICU different sound intensities and frequencies are produced from different sources, which may exert undesirable physiological effects on the infants. The aim of this study was to determine the noise level and its sources in the NICU and neonatal ward of Al-Zahra Hospital of Rasht, Iran. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the intensity of the sounds generated by the internal and external sources in the NICU and neonatal ward was measured using a sound level meter device. The sound produced by each of the sources was individually calculated. Data were analyzed performing descriptive and analytical statistics, using SPSS version 19. Results: The mean noise levels in six rooms and a hallway during morning, afternoon and night shifts with the electromechanical devices turned on were 61.67±4.5, 61.32±4.32 and 60.71±4.56 dB, respectively. Moreover, with the devices tuned off the mean noise levels during morning, afternoon and evening shifts were 64.97±2.6, 60.6±1.29 and 57.91±4.73 dB, respectively. The differences between the mean noise levels in the neonatal wards (standard noise level=45 dB during each shift with the electromechanical devices turned on and off were statistically significant (P=0.002 and P

The dissimilar time course of temporary threshold shifts and reduction of inhibition in the inferior colliculus following intense sound exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Heeringa, A N; van Dijk, P

2014-06-01

Excessive noise exposure is known to produce an auditory threshold shift, which can be permanent or transient in nature. Recent studies showed that noise-induced temporary threshold shifts are associated with loss of synaptic connections to the inner hair cells and with cochlear nerve degeneration, which is reflected in a decreased amplitude of wave I of the auditory brainstem response (ABR). This suggests that, despite normal auditory thresholds, central auditory processing may be abnormal. We recorded changes in central auditory processing following a sound-induced temporary threshold shift. Anesthetized guinea pigs were exposed for 1 h to a pure tone of 11 kHz (124 dB sound pressure level). Hearing thresholds, amplitudes of ABR waves I and IV, and spontaneous and tone-evoked firing rates in the inferior colliculus (IC) were assessed immediately, one week, two weeks, and four weeks post exposure. Hearing thresholds were elevated immediately following overexposure, but recovered within one week. The amplitude of the ABR wave I was decreased in all sound-exposed animals for all test periods. In contrast, the ABR wave IV amplitude was only decreased immediately after overexposure and recovered within a week. The proportion of IC units that show inhibitory responses to pure tones decreased substantially up to two weeks after overexposure, especially when stimulated with high frequencies. The proportion of excitatory responses to low frequencies was increased. Spontaneous activity was unaffected by the overexposure. Despite rapid normalization of auditory thresholds, our results suggest an increased central gain following sound exposure and an abnormal balance between excitatory and inhibitory responses in the midbrain up to two weeks after overexposure. These findings may be associated with hyperacusis after a sound-induced temporary threshold shift. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The sounds of science

Science.gov (United States)

Carlowicz, Michael

As scientists carefully study some aspects of the ocean environment, are they unintentionally distressing others? That is a question to be answered by Robert Benson and his colleagues in the Center for Bioacoustics at Texas A&M University.With help from a 3-year, $316,000 grant from the U.S. Office of Naval Research, Benson will study how underwater noise produced by naval operations and other sources may affect marine mammals. In Benson's study, researchers will generate random sequences of low-frequency, high-intensity (180-decibel) sounds in the Gulf of Mexico, working at an approximate distance of 1 km from sperm whale herds. Using an array of hydrophones, the scientists will listen to the characteristic clicks and whistles of the sperm whales to detect changes in the animals' direction, speed, and depth, as derived from fluctuations in their calls.

Sound Spectrum Influences Auditory Distance Perception of Sound Sources Located in a Room Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ignacio Spiousas

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Previous studies on the effect of spectral content on auditory distance perception (ADP focused on the physically measurable cues occurring either in the near field (low-pass filtering due to head diffraction or when the sound travels distances >15 m (high-frequency energy losses due to air absorption. Here, we study how the spectrum of a sound arriving from a source located in a reverberant room at intermediate distances (1–6 m influences the perception of the distance to the source. First, we conducted an ADP experiment using pure tones (the simplest possible spectrum of frequencies 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz. Then, we performed a second ADP experiment with stimuli consisting of continuous broadband and bandpass-filtered (with center frequencies of 0.5, 1.5, and 4 kHz and bandwidths of 1/12, 1/3, and 1.5 octave pink-noise clips. Our results showed an effect of the stimulus frequency on the perceived distance both for pure tones and filtered noise bands: ADP was less accurate for stimuli containing energy only in the low-frequency range. Analysis of the frequency response of the room showed that the low accuracy observed for low-frequency stimuli can be explained by the presence of sparse modal resonances in the low-frequency region of the spectrum, which induced a non-monotonic relationship between binaural intensity and source distance. The results obtained in the second experiment suggest that ADP can also be affected by stimulus bandwidth but in a less straightforward way (i.e., depending on the center frequency, increasing stimulus bandwidth could have different effects. Finally, the analysis of the acoustical cues suggests that listeners judged source distance using mainly changes in the overall intensity of the auditory stimulus with distance rather than the direct-to-reverberant energy ratio, even for low-frequency noise bands (which typically induce high amount of reverberation. The results obtained in this study show that, depending on

Effects of Active and Passive Hearing Protection Devices on Sound Source Localization, Speech Recognition, and Tone Detection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew D Brown

Full Text Available Hearing protection devices (HPDs such as earplugs offer to mitigate noise exposure and reduce the incidence of hearing loss among persons frequently exposed to intense sound. However, distortions of spatial acoustic information and reduced audibility of low-intensity sounds caused by many existing HPDs can make their use untenable in high-risk (e.g., military or law enforcement environments where auditory situational awareness is imperative. Here we assessed (1 sound source localization accuracy using a head-turning paradigm, (2 speech-in-noise recognition using a modified version of the QuickSIN test, and (3 tone detection thresholds using a two-alternative forced-choice task. Subjects were 10 young normal-hearing males. Four different HPDs were tested (two active, two passive, including two new and previously untested devices. Relative to unoccluded (control performance, all tested HPDs significantly degraded performance across tasks, although one active HPD slightly improved high-frequency tone detection thresholds and did not degrade speech recognition. Behavioral data were examined with respect to head-related transfer functions measured using a binaural manikin with and without tested HPDs in place. Data reinforce previous reports that HPDs significantly compromise a variety of auditory perceptual facilities, particularly sound localization due to distortions of high-frequency spectral cues that are important for the avoidance of front-back confusions.

Sensor for metal detection

KAUST Repository

Kodzius, Rimantas

2014-06-26

NOVELTY - The sensor has a microfluidic flow channel that is provided with an inlet port, an outlet port, and a detection chamber. The detection chamber is provided with a group of sensing electrodes (4) having a working electrode (8), a counter electrode (9), and a reference electrode (10). A flow sensor is configured to measure flow in the channel. A temperature sensor (6) is configured to measure temperature in the channel (3). An electrical connection is configured to connect the sensor to a sensing device. USE - Sensor for detecting metal such as toxic metal in sample such as clinical sample such as stool, saliva, sputum, bronchial lavage, urine, vaginal swab, nasal swab, biopsy, tissue, tears, breath, blood, serum, plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, peritoneal fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid, joint fluid, and amniotic fluid, water sample, food sample, air sample, and soil sample (all claimed). ADVANTAGE - The sensor for use with the portable analytical instrument is configured for detection of metalsin samples. The sensor can provide the excellent solution for on-site metal detection, including heavy metal detection. The sensors can provide significant advantages in higher throughput, lower cost, at the same time being less labor intensive and less dependent on individual skills. The disposable design of the sensor, the enhanced reliability and repeatability of measurements can be obtained. The sensors can be widely applied in various industries. DETAILED DESCRIPTION - INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are included for the following: (1) a system for detecting metal in sample; and (2) a method for using sensor for detecting metal in sample. DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The drawing shows a schematic view of the sensor prototype. Channel (3) Sensing electrodes (4) Temperature sensor (6) Working electrode (8) Counter electrode (9) Reference electrode (10)

Chemical Sensors Based on Cyclodextrin Derivatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Ogoshi, Tomoki; Harada, Akira

2008-08-25

This review focuses on chemical sensors based on cyclodextrin (CD) derivatives. This has been a field of classical interest, and is now of current interest for numerous scientists. First, typical chemical sensors using chromophore appended CDs are mentioned. Various "turn-off" and "turn-on" fluorescent chemical sensors, in which fluorescence intensity was decreased or increased by complexation with guest molecules, respectively, were synthesized. Dye modified CDs and photoactive metal ion-ligand complex appended CDs, metallocyclodextrins, were also applied for chemical sensors. Furthermore, recent novel approaches to chemical sensing systems using supramolecular structures such as CD dimers, trimers and cooperative binding systems of CDs with the other macrocycle [2]rotaxane and supramolecular polymers consisting of CD units are mentioned. New chemical sensors using hybrids of CDs with p-conjugated polymers, peptides, DNA, nanocarbons and nanoparticles are also described in this review.

Enhancing gas-phase reaction in a plasma using high intensity and high power ultrasonic acoustic waves

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2010-01-01

is absorbed into said plasma (104), and where a sound pressure level of said generated ultrasonic high intensity and high power acoustic waves (102) is at least substantially 140 dB and where an acoustic power of said generated ultrasonic high intensity and high power acoustic waves (102); is at least...... substantially 100 W. In this way, a high sound intensity and power are obtained that efficiently enhances a gas-phase reaction in the plasma, which enhances the plasma process, e.g. enabling more efficient ozone or hydrogen generation using plasma in relation to reaction speed and/or obtained concentration......This invention relates to enhancing a gas-phase reaction in a plasma comprising: creating plasma (104) by at least one plasma source (106), and wherein that the method further comprises: generating ultrasonic high intensity and high power acoustic waves (102) having a predetermined amount...

Miniaturized multi-sensor for aquatic studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Birkelund, Karen; Hyldgård, Anders; Mortensen, Dennis

2011-01-01

that allows for direct exposure to the seawater and thereby more accurate measurements. The chip contains a piezo-resistive pressure sensor, a pn-junction photodiode sensitive to visible light, a four-terminal platinum resistor for temperature measurement and four conductivity electrodes for the determination...... of the salinity of saltwater. Pressure, light intensity, temperature and salinity are all essential parameters when mapping the migration route of fish. The pressure sensor has a sensitivity of S = 1.44 × 10−7 Pa−1 and is optimized to 20 bar pressure; the light sensor has a quantum efficiency between 52% and 74......We have developed and fabricated a multi-sensor chip for fisheries’ research and demonstrated the functionality under controlled conditions. The outer dimensions of the sensor chip are 3.0 × 7.4 × 0.8 mm3 and both sides of the chip are utilized for sensors. Hereby a more compact chip is achieved...

Active sound reduction system and method

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2016-01-01

The present invention refers to an active sound reduction system and method for attenuation of sound emitted by a primary sound source, especially for attenuation of snoring sounds emitted by a human being. This system comprises a primary sound source, at least one speaker as a secondary sound

Polymethine Dye as Sensors of NH3 and CO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petro O. Kondratenko

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We have investigated the properties of polymethine dyes (PMD and the purpose of using them as sensors of hazardous gases presence. Research indicates that in case of utilizing PMD as a sensor of hazardous gases we need to use the monochromatic light which wavelength corresponds to the inflection point of the long-wave absorption edge of PMD. Such sensor of hazardous gases can detect changes in the optical density of the sensor layer or the light intensity transmitted through the layer.

Perancangan Jaringan Sensor Terdistribusi untuk Pengaturan Suhu, Kelembaban dan Intensitas Cahaya

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Bimo Ananto Pamungkas

2013-04-01

Full Text Available This paper contains distributed sensor system design for temperature, air humidity, and light intensity monitoring in greenhouse based Arduino Uno board. System contains 2 sensor-actuator nodes, and 1 controller node connected to Ethernet network through Ethernet Shield board. Sensor-actuator node with DHT 11 sensor works for taking environment informations such as temperature, air humidity, and light intensity, runs actuation in the form of emulating LED lights; and communicates with controller node which will process data using serial wire as a communication tool between nodes. Monitoring datas and user control interface is provided by controller node which can be accessed online in web browser. The system ability for monitoring environment in greenhouse and online access of environmental data generates controllable and automatic monitoring and management of plants.

Sound Symbolism in Basic Vocabulary

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Søren Wichmann

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The relationship between meanings of words and their sound shapes is to a large extent arbitrary, but it is well known that languages exhibit sound symbolism effects violating arbitrariness. Evidence for sound symbolism is typically anecdotal, however. Here we present a systematic approach. Using a selection of basic vocabulary in nearly one half of the world’s languages we find commonalities among sound shapes for words referring to same concepts. These are interpreted as due to sound symbolism. Studying the effects of sound symbolism cross-linguistically is of key importance for the understanding of language evolution.

Passive long range acousto-optic sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, Dan

2006-08-01

Alexander Graham Bell's photophone of 1880 was a simple free space optical communication device that used the sun to illuminate a reflective acoustic diaphragm. A selenium photocell located 213 m (700 ft) away converted the acoustically modulated light beam back into sound. A variation of the photophone is presented here that uses naturally formed free space acousto-optic communications links to provide passive multichannel long range acoustic sensing. This system, called RAS (remote acoustic sensor), functions as a long range microphone with a demonstrated range in excess of 40 km (25 miles).

Sounding the Alarm: An Introduction to Ecological Sound Art

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Jonathan Gilmurray

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In recent years, a number of sound artists have begun engaging with ecological issues through their work, forming a growing movement of ˝ecological sound art˝. This paper traces its development, examines its influences, and provides examples of the artists whose work is currently defining this important and timely new field.

Sound Stuff? Naïve materialism in middle-school students' conceptions of sound

Science.gov (United States)

Eshach, Haim; Schwartz, Judah L.

2006-06-01

Few studies have dealt with students’ preconceptions of sounds. The current research employs Reiner et al. (2000) substance schema to reveal new insights about students’ difficulties in understanding this fundamental topic. It aims not only to detect whether the substance schema is present in middle school students’ thinking, but also examines how students use the schema’s properties. It asks, moreover, whether the substance schema properties are used as islands of local consistency or whether one can identify more global coherent consistencies among the properties that the students use to explain the sound phenomena. In-depth standardized open-ended interviews were conducted with ten middle school students. Consistent with the substance schema, sound was perceived by our participants as being pushable, frictional, containable, or transitional. However, sound was also viewed as a substance different from the ordinary with respect to its stability, corpuscular nature, additive properties, and inertial characteristics. In other words, students’ conceptions of sound do not seem to fit Reiner et al.’s schema in all respects. Our results also indicate that students’ conceptualization of sound lack internal consistency. Analyzing our results with respect to local and global coherence, we found students’ conception of sound is close to diSessa’s “loosely connected, fragmented collection of ideas.” The notion that sound is perceived only as a “sort of a material,” we believe, requires some revision of the substance schema as it applies to sound. The article closes with a discussion concerning the implications of the results for instruction.

Sound symbolism: the role of word sound in meaning.

Science.gov (United States)

Svantesson, Jan-Olof

2017-09-01

The question whether there is a natural connection between sound and meaning or if they are related only by convention has been debated since antiquity. In linguistics, it is usually taken for granted that 'the linguistic sign is arbitrary,' and exceptions like onomatopoeia have been regarded as marginal phenomena. However, it is becoming more and more clear that motivated relations between sound and meaning are more common and important than has been thought. There is now a large and rapidly growing literature on subjects as ideophones (or expressives), words that describe how a speaker perceives a situation with the senses, and phonaesthemes, units like English gl-, which occur in many words that share a meaning component (in this case 'light': gleam, glitter, etc.). Furthermore, psychological experiments have shown that sound symbolism in one language can be understood by speakers of other languages, suggesting that some kinds of sound symbolism are universal. WIREs Cogn Sci 2017, 8:e1441. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1441 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sound-by-sound thalamic stimulation modulates midbrain auditory excitability and relative binaural sensitivity in frogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Ponnath, Abhilash; Farris, Hamilton E

2014-01-01

Descending circuitry can modulate auditory processing, biasing sensitivity to particular stimulus parameters and locations. Using awake in vivo single unit recordings, this study tested whether electrical stimulation of the thalamus modulates auditory excitability and relative binaural sensitivity in neurons of the amphibian midbrain. In addition, by using electrical stimuli that were either longer than the acoustic stimuli (i.e., seconds) or presented on a sound-by-sound basis (ms), experiments addressed whether the form of modulation depended on the temporal structure of the electrical stimulus. Following long duration electrical stimulation (3-10 s of 20 Hz square pulses), excitability (spikes/acoustic stimulus) to free-field noise stimuli decreased by 32%, but returned over 600 s. In contrast, sound-by-sound electrical stimulation using a single 2 ms duration electrical pulse 25 ms before each noise stimulus caused faster and varied forms of modulation: modulation lasted sound-by-sound electrical stimulation varied between different acoustic stimuli, including for different male calls, suggesting modulation is specific to certain stimulus attributes. For binaural units, modulation depended on the ear of input, as sound-by-sound electrical stimulation preceding dichotic acoustic stimulation caused asymmetric modulatory effects: sensitivity shifted for sounds at only one ear, or by different relative amounts for both ears. This caused a change in the relative difference in binaural sensitivity. Thus, sound-by-sound electrical stimulation revealed fast and ear-specific (i.e., lateralized) auditory modulation that is potentially suited to shifts in auditory attention during sound segregation in the auditory scene.

Analysis, Synthesis, and Perception of Musical Sounds The Sound of Music

CERN Document Server

Beauchamp, James W

2007-01-01

Analysis, Synthesis, and Perception of Musical Sounds contains a detailed treatment of basic methods for analysis and synthesis of musical sounds, including the phase vocoder method, the McAulay-Quatieri frequency-tracking method, the constant-Q transform, and methods for pitch tracking with several examples shown. Various aspects of musical sound spectra such as spectral envelope, spectral centroid, spectral flux, and spectral irregularity are defined and discussed. One chapter is devoted to the control and synthesis of spectral envelopes. Two advanced methods of analysis/synthesis are given: "Sines Plus Transients Plus Noise" and "Spectrotemporal Reassignment" are covered. Methods for timbre morphing are given. The last two chapters discuss the perception of musical sounds based on discrimination and multidimensional scaling timbre models.

Root Zone Sensors for Irrigation Management in Intensive Agriculture

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Jochen Hemming

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Crop irrigation uses more than 70% of the world’s water, and thus, improving irrigation efficiency is decisive to sustain the food demand from a fast-growing world population. This objective may be accomplished by cultivating more water-efficient crop species and/or through the application of efficient irrigation systems, which includes the implementation of a suitable method for precise scheduling. At the farm level, irrigation is generally scheduled based on the grower’s experience or on the determination of soil water balance (weather-based method. An alternative approach entails the measurement of soil water status. Expensive and sophisticated root zone sensors (RZS, such as neutron probes, are available for the use of soil and plant scientists, while cheap and practical devices are needed for irrigation management in commercial crops. The paper illustrates the main features of RZS’ (for both soil moisture and salinity marketed for the irrigation industry and discusses how such sensors may be integrated in a wireless network for computer-controlled irrigation and used for innovative irrigation strategies, such as deficit or dual-water irrigation. The paper also consider the main results of recent or current research works conducted by the authors in Tuscany (Italy on the irrigation management of container-grown ornamental plants, which is an important agricultural sector in Italy.

Michael Jackson's Sound Stages

OpenAIRE

Morten Michelsen

2012-01-01

In order to discuss analytically spatial aspects of recorded sound William Moylan’s concept of ‘sound stage’ is developed within a musicological framework as part of a sound paradigm which includes timbre, texture and sound stage. Two Michael Jackson songs (‘The Lady in My Life’ from 1982 and ‘Scream’ from 1995) are used to: a) demonstrate the value of such a conceptualisation, and b) demonstrate that the model has its limits, as record producers in the 1990s began ignoring the conventions of...

Packets distribution in a tree-based topology wireless sensor networks

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Akpakwu, GA

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The concept of data distribution within cluster of sensor nodes to the source sink has resulted to intense research in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). In this paper, in order to determine the scheduling length of packet distribution, a tree...

Characterization of modulated time-of-flight range image sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Payne, Andrew D.; Dorrington, Adrian A.; Cree, Michael J.; Carnegie, Dale A.

2009-01-01

A number of full field image sensors have been developed that are capable of simultaneously measuring intensity and distance (range) for every pixel in a given scene using an indirect time-of-flight measurement technique. A light source is intensity modulated at a frequency between 10-100 MHz, and an image sensor is modulated at the same frequency, synchronously sampling light reflected from objects in the scene (homodyne detection). The time of flight is manifested as a phase shift in the illumination modulation envelope, which can be determined from the sampled data simultaneously for each pixel in the scene. This paper presents a method of characterizing the high frequency modulation response of these image sensors, using a pico-second laser pulser. The characterization results allow the optimal operating parameters, such as the modulation frequency, to be identified in order to maximize the range measurement precision for a given sensor. A number of potential sources of error exist when using these sensors, including deficiencies in the modulation waveform shape, duty cycle, or phase, resulting in contamination of the resultant range data. From the characterization data these parameters can be identified and compensated for by modifying the sensor hardware or through post processing of the acquired range measurements.

ABOUT SOUNDS IN VIDEO GAMES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denikin Anton A.

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The article considers the aesthetical and practical possibilities for sounds (sound design in video games and interactive applications. Outlines the key features of the game sound, such as simulation, representativeness, interactivity, immersion, randomization, and audio-visuality. The author defines the basic terminology in study of game audio, as well as identifies significant aesthetic differences between film sounds and sounds in video game projects. It is an attempt to determine the techniques of art analysis for the approaches in study of video games including aesthetics of their sounds. The article offers a range of research methods, considering the video game scoring as a contemporary creative practice.

Development of Sound Localization Strategies in Children with Bilateral Cochlear Implants.

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Yi Zheng

Full Text Available Localizing sounds in our environment is one of the fundamental perceptual abilities that enable humans to communicate, and to remain safe. Because the acoustic cues necessary for computing source locations consist of differences between the two ears in signal intensity and arrival time, sound localization is fairly poor when a single ear is available. In adults who become deaf and are fitted with cochlear implants (CIs sound localization is known to improve when bilateral CIs (BiCIs are used compared to when a single CI is used. The aim of the present study was to investigate the emergence of spatial hearing sensitivity in children who use BiCIs, with a particular focus on the development of behavioral localization patterns when stimuli are presented in free-field horizontal acoustic space. A new analysis was implemented to quantify patterns observed in children for mapping acoustic space to a spatially relevant perceptual representation. Children with normal hearing were found to distribute their responses in a manner that demonstrated high spatial sensitivity. In contrast, children with BiCIs tended to classify sound source locations to the left and right; with increased bilateral hearing experience, they developed a perceptual map of space that was better aligned with the acoustic space. The results indicate experience-dependent refinement of spatial hearing skills in children with CIs. Localization strategies appear to undergo transitions from sound source categorization strategies to more fine-grained location identification strategies. This may provide evidence for neural plasticity, with implications for training of spatial hearing ability in CI users.

Radial Basis Function Networks for Conversion of Sound Spectra

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Carlo Drioli

2001-03-01

Full Text Available In many advanced signal processing tasks, such as pitch shifting, voice conversion or sound synthesis, accurate spectral processing is required. Here, the use of Radial Basis Function Networks (RBFN is proposed for the modeling of the spectral changes (or conversions related to the control of important sound parameters, such as pitch or intensity. The identification of such conversion functions is based on a procedure which learns the shape of the conversion from few couples of target spectra from a data set. The generalization properties of RBFNs provides for interpolation with respect to the pitch range. In the construction of the training set, mel-cepstral encoding of the spectrum is used to catch the perceptually most relevant spectral changes. Moreover, a singular value decomposition (SVD approach is used to reduce the dimension of conversion functions. The RBFN conversion functions introduced are characterized by a perceptually-based fast training procedure, desirable interpolation properties and computational efficiency.

”Sound [signal] noise

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørnsten, Thomas

2012-01-01

The article discusses the intricate relationship between sound and signification through notions of noise. The emergence of new fields of sonic artistic practices has generated several questions of how to approach sound as aesthetic form and material. During the past decade an increased attention...... has been paid to, for instance, a category such as ‘sound art’ together with an equally strengthened interest in phenomena and concepts that fall outside the accepted aesthetic procedures and constructions of what we traditionally would term as musical sound – a recurring example being ‘noise’....

Mapping of sound scattering objects in the northern part of the Barents Sea and their geological interpretation

Science.gov (United States)

Sokolov, S. Yu.; Moroz, E. A.; Abramova, A. S.; Zarayskaya, Yu. A.; Dobrolubova, K. O.

2017-07-01

On cruises 25 (2007) and 28 (2011) of the R/V Akademik Nikolai Strakhov in the northern part of the Barents Sea, the Geological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, conducted comprehensive research on the bottom relief and upper part of the sedimentary cover profile under the auspices of the International Polar Year program. One of the instrument components was the SeaBat 8111 shallow-water multibeam echo sounder, which can map the acoustic field similarly to a side scan sonar, which records the response both from the bottom and from the water column. In the operations area, intense sound scattering objects produced by the discharge of deep fluid flows are detected in the water column. The sound scattering objects and pockmarks in the bottom relief are related to anomalies in hydrocarbon gas concentrations in bottom sediments. The sound scattering objects are localized over Triassic sequences outcropping from the bottom. The most intense degassing processes manifest themselves near the contact of the Triassic sequences and Jurassic clay deposits, as well as over deep depressions in a field of Bouguer anomalies related to the basement of the Jurassic-Cretaceous rift system

Beneath sci-fi sound: primer, science fiction sound design, and American independent cinema

OpenAIRE

Johnston, Nessa

2012-01-01

Primer is a very low budget science-fiction film that deals with the subject of time travel; however, it looks and sounds quite distinctively different from other films associated with the genre. While Hollywood blockbuster sci-fi relies on “sound spectacle” as a key attraction, in contrast Primer sounds “lo-fi” and screen-centred, mixed to two channel stereo rather than the now industry-standard 5.1 surround sound. Although this is partly a consequence of the economics of its production, the...

Underwater detection by using ultrasonic sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Bakar, S. A. A.; Ong, N. R.; Aziz, M. H. A.; Alcain, J. B.; Haimi, W. M. W. N.; Sauli, Z.

2017-09-01

This paper described the low cost implementation of hardware and software in developing the system of ultrasonic which can visualize the feedback of sound in the form of measured distance through mobile phone and monitoring the frequency of detection by using real time graph of Java application. A single waterproof transducer of JSN-SR04T had been used to determine the distance of an object based on operation of the classic pulse echo detection method underwater. In this experiment, the system was tested by placing the housing which consisted of Arduino UNO, Bluetooth module of HC-06, ultrasonic sensor and LEDs at the top of the box and the transducer was immersed in the water. The system which had been tested for detection in vertical form was found to be capable of reporting through the use of colored LEDs as indicator to the relative proximity of object distance underwater form the sensor. As a conclusion, the system can detect the presence of an object underwater within the range of ultrasonic sensor and display the measured distance onto the mobile phone and the real time graph had been successfully generated.

Sound classification of dwellings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Birgit

2012-01-01

National schemes for sound classification of dwellings exist in more than ten countries in Europe, typically published as national standards. The schemes define quality classes reflecting different levels of acoustical comfort. Main criteria concern airborne and impact sound insulation between...... dwellings, facade sound insulation and installation noise. The schemes have been developed, implemented and revised gradually since the early 1990s. However, due to lack of coordination between countries, there are significant discrepancies, and new standards and revisions continue to increase the diversity...... is needed, and a European COST Action TU0901 "Integrating and Harmonizing Sound Insulation Aspects in Sustainable Urban Housing Constructions", has been established and runs 2009-2013, one of the main objectives being to prepare a proposal for a European sound classification scheme with a number of quality...

Estimation of Temporal Gait Parameters Using a Wearable Microphone-Sensor-Based System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng Wang

2016-12-01