Developing an attachable electronic device for environmental sound sensing

• Main Author: Thangavel, Prasanth
• Other Authors: Gan Woon Seng
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/67874
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The urban sound environment of Singapore City can be vibrant, exciting and notoriously loud, that has a profound effect on the quality of life of the city inhabitants. To monitor and ultimately understand these sonic environments, a process of long-term sound capture, measurement and analysis is required. The traditional method of environmental sound sensing uses short term measurement periods using expensive equipment’s, set up and operated by experienced professional. The proposed project takes a different approach by implementing smart, low-cost, static, wireless, acoustic sensing device based around embedded systems. These devices can be deployed in numerous and varied urban locations for pro-longed periods of time from days to months, allowing for the collection and transmission of processed urban acoustic data. This device if integrated with radio networks and high speed satellite internet or 3G/4G/5G would create a network of acoustic sensors. This would be optimal for monitoring noise level in urban setup as well as for tracking illegal activities in remote places such has forest logging. This report details the sensor’s selection and circuit designs, development of embedded systems for signal acquisition, processing and data logging, followed by wireless, with a focus on the calibration of the devices in order to generate reliable decibel levels.