Acoustics lab

Description

The CIE Acoustics lab is built around the central concept of sound quality assessment. Our environment is getting louder and louder, and both the noise sources and their sound characteristics are becoming ever more diverse. At the same time, digital mass media and global markets give the power of the human voice a whole new meaning. Our equipment meets these challenges of the twenty-first century. We can produce, record and measure sound multidimensionally and multiparametrically; and, in each of these contexts, we can analyse patterns of human behaviour, physiology and speech. The issues that we can address on this basis reach from noise reduction through the optimisation of robot and machine sounds to voice interfaces and public-speaker (presentation and negotiation) training.
Accordingly, the laboratory is divided into 3 sections: (1) a sound-treated booth, (2) a surround sound acoustic-ambiance simulation environment with virtual reality immersion and (3) a perceptual area for interactive psychoacoustic experiments.

Services for companies

Sound-related services

• Sound design, i.e. guidance for the improvement of machine sounds, also considering customer-specific factors and requirements
• Development of voice interfaces for machines and improvement of speech output of talking machines/robots, especially in terms of social, emotional and persuasive qualities
• Infrasound (G-weighting) measurements according to ISO 7196:1995 and ANSI S1.42–2001 (R2011)

Noise-related services

• Noise-source localisation
• Noise measurement and analysis, also as a preparation for certification
• Noise assessment in terms of how stressful/distracting/dangerous it is for humans and for human health (with advice for improvement)

Speech-related services

• SDU Acoustic Charisma Training; the world's first presentation/public-speaking training that is based on acoustic signal analysis and strictly rooted in scientific grounds; taught in combination with acoustic signal visualisation, body language and general voice and breathing training
• Negotiation training, also based on acoustic voice analysis and training

Technical specifications of equipment

• DEMVOX sound-treated acoustic booth, approx. 10 m²
• HK-Audio hi-fi surround sound area approx. 20 m² (large enough to put people as well as machines into the simulation environment; tailored DSP equipment allows for complete post-hoc noise cancellation at the centre of the surround sound area
• Brüel & Kjaer 2270-S for general purpose class 1 sound measurements to the latest international standards, including vibration transducers and sound level meter kit
• Mobile virtual reality set
• Eye tracking set for pupillometry and eye movement detection
• Respiratory inductance plethysmograph for abdominal and chest-breathing measurement and analysis
• MARRYS helmet for mandibular action measurement and analysis
• High-end studio AKG large diaphragm condenser microphone array
• Scanning laser vibrometer for vibration detection, localisation and analysis
• Tailored Head-and-Torso-Simulator (HATS) for human-like realistic, hi-fi sound recordings; our unique HATS can turn its head for 180° sound recordings
• Bose ANC headphone array for psychoacoustic tests using state-of-the-art stimulus creation and presentation software