[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/mt\/article\/modal\/6344\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n        \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n  \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E3D sound maps to help neighbourhoods \u2018absorb\u2019 noise\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUrban areas are often filled by apartment buildings or enclosed spaces known as \u2018city canyons\u2019 by sound planners.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESound travels in between these areas, reflecting and scattering against building facades, while atmospheric conditions like wind can further increase noise levels. All of this can make your neighbourhood a very loud place to live.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, by mapping and identifying different types of sounds in urban environments, researchers hope to help city planners come up with ideas to reduce this noise.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003E\u2018In the future we are going to have systems that map out noise and characterise why the environment is pleasant or disturbing.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003ETuomas Virtanen, Tampere University of Technology, Finland\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018What is important is sound absorption because noise can then be taken away,\u2019 explained Maarten Hornikx, who received a Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie grant for the openPSTD project, which is developing a 3D sound simulation method that assesses noise distribution within the urban environment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There are already noise mapping software tools that work for a lot of areas in cities, but for cases (such) as narrow city canyons, side streets and inner yards where traffic noise sources are not visible, they don\u2019t give the correct results,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESound is a sequence of waves which propagates, or vibrates, through a medium such as air or water. The openPSTD system computes sound propagation from sources of noise in the \u2018urban soundscape\u2019 as well as how wind affects this propagation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt then presents the information in 3D to provide precise readings that planners can use to implement targeted solutions to deal with noise pollution.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We have a method that is far more accurate than most standardised prediction methods,\u2019 said Hornikx, of the Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands. \u2018Since it is so detailed you can think of small-scale effects on a street level and how that can improve the noise situation.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EArticle continues below\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022The openPSTD software produces a 3D model of how soundwaves travel through the air in a particular environment. Image courtesy of openPSTD\u0022 height=\u0022391\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/sound%20render.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022The openPSTD software produces a 3D model of how soundwaves travel through the air in a particular environment. Image courtesy of openPSTD\u0022 width=\u0022600\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022italic mb-4\u0022\u003EThe openPSTD software produces a 3D model of how soundwaves travel through the air in a particular environment. Image courtesy of openPSTD\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis could include things such as using sound-absorbing materials for road surfaces and buildings, or introducing acoustic panels or green walls at specific noisy places.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGreen walls are vertical gardens made of plants or trees. For many years they have been used along busy roads as barriers against noise, and if introduced at a street\u2019s weak spots or on the facades of buildings they can improve the soundscape of a neighbourhood.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Installing a green wall can be worthwhile for noise reduction and for other effects it might bring,\u2019 added Hornikx.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHornikx hopes that openPSTD will provide the information necessary for urban solutions to be introduced to neighbourhoods to achieve what he calls a \u2018positive sound environment\u2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMultiple layers\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhether it\u2019s a busy street, office or house, each environment has its own soundscape which is made up of multiple layers of sound. These sounds can reveal valuable information about the setting.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In the future we are going to have systems that map out noise and characterise why the environment is pleasant or disturbing,\u2019 said Tuomas Virtanen, Associate Professor at the Department of Signal Processing, Tampere University of Technology, Finland.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor this, however, you need sophisticated technology that can differentiate between the types of sounds, such as birdsong, traffic noise or voices.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Humans are amazingly good at detecting multiple sources of sound, but it is challenging for computers,\u2019 added Virtanen. He is principal investigator of EVERYSOUND, which is funded by the EU\u0027s European Research Council to develop software that can automatically classify sounds in everyday environments.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We have audio recordings and then have experts listen to them, annotating what sounds are present. We feed both the audio recordings and the annotations into our algorithms and the system learns the sounds,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese algorithms will allow the EVERYSOUND system to analyse recordings taken in everyday situations such as a street, park, home or building and provide high-level descriptions of the sounds contained within.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We could monitor audio in an office environment and get statistics about the noises there,\u2019 said Virtanen. \u2018We could see if there are noise disturbances and if this affects people\u0027s work.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEventually, the system could be automated further to monitor noise and detect the source of problematic sounds.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018You can develop phones, cars or robots that can recognise sounds in their environment,\u2019 said Virtanen. \u2018They could monitor areas to see what people are doing or what kind of machines are there or other types of vehicles.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n            \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n      Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n    \u003C\/div\u003E\n  \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-nlzq2xkzruershkmppqfrhwt8fxwirpqakaed4ikbqu\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-nLzq2XkzrUErSHkMPpQfrHWT8fxWirpqAKAEd4IKBQU\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]