Cardiff: Sound-mapping software to help architects design out unwanted noise.

Licensing opportunity | Development opportunity

Researchers at Cardiff University, Wales, have developed software that generates audibility maps of proposed room designs, for use by architects, and are now looking for a partner to commercialise the application.

These maps show hotspots where conversations would be inaudible/unintelligible if the room were busy. Architects can then adjust their designs to reduce reverberation until the hotspots are eliminated and audibility is maximised.

Software already exists to help architects predict how buildings like theatres and concert halls will perform acoustically. The new software is designed to improve the acoustic design of indoor spaces where a large number of people meet, chat and interact, for example, in open-plan offices, cafes and reception areas.

“A lot of work has been done to understand acoustics in places used for public performances,” says John Culling, project leader. “But little has been done to improve the acoustics of day-to-day meeting-places.”

The new software also produces results much more rapidly than other acoustic software. The key to its capability is the computational efficiency of the mathematical equation that underpins it.

The equation has been built up using the project team’s research into how people take in sound through both ears as it travels round busy rooms, and how noise sources are affected by each other. This means it can accurately predict acoustic quality at every point in an indoor space where people are likely to gather and talk.

Architects will be able to call a proposed design onto the computer screen and run the software, which will ask them to specify the locations of the main sound sources in the room. An audibility map will then be generated automatically, and the user can then change the room dimensions, shape and/or the materials to be used, until hotspots are eliminated.

The software is intended to be used in conjunction with standard architectural computer programs that are widely employed in room design.   

The research will also help in the future development of hearing aids and cochlear implants.

“Our objective now is to identify and work with a software company to help us develop the software further and market it,” says Culling. “Hopefully it will be available for architects to use within the next 12 months.”