where science meets industry
PTRC Signs Agreements on Sensor Research, CCS Cooperation in The...
We love the sound of twittering birds, but the hum of traffic on a highway irritates us, even though the birds often produce more decibels. So how do you measure noise nuisance? The INCAS³ research institute and the DCMR Rijnmond Environmental Protection Agency are working together to develop methods of measuring the ‘acoustic quality’ of an area.
DCMR Director, Jan van den Heuvel, and Dr Heinrich Wörtche, Scientific Director of INCAS³, have signed an agreement for a joint research project. The two parties will be collaborating during the coming year to develop better sensor systems and new measuring methods to measure noise nuisance. They will then test the new technology they develop in a series of trial projects.
Irritating or pleasant sound
Whether or not noise is irritating or pleasant can be predicted not only based on volume. The crashing waves of the sea can actually be very restful, whereas a gently dripping tap can drive a person to madness. Why is that? Is it to do with the pitch, the rhythm or the fact that it is a natural sound? Or, translated into the words of the INCAS³ scientists, what are the acoustic characteristics of a restful or of an irritating environment? What determines the quality of an acoustic environment?
More than measurement alone
Refined sound sensors are needed for this project, but above all an intelligent system that interprets the measurement data. ‘Teaching’ the technology to listen as humans do is the primary aim of this cooperative venture between DCMR and INCAS³.
DCMR
The DCMR Rijnmond Environmental Protection Agency is the joint environmental agency of the province of Zuid-Holland and fifteen municipalities in the Rijnmond area. For the region’s 1.2 million inhabitants, the DCMR aims to reduce the burden on the environment in the Rijnmond. The DCMR grants environmental permits and monitors these permits among 23,000 businesses. In addition, the DCMR supports municipalities, government bodies and businesses at a regional, national and international level on environmental issues. In the event of environmental incidents, the DCMR is available day and night to local residents, businesses and government bodies.