Using Smart Devices to Quantify #1

A paper published in Nature Scientific Reports describes researchers using a Dodotronic Ultramic384, an Oppo smartwatch, and a Xiaomi Mi A1 smartphone to record audio of the sound of a #1 hitting the water surface in a toilet bowl. The audio was analyzed using machine-learning regression algorithms to determined urine flow parameters such as voided volume and flow rate, and was compared with a commercial grade Minze uroflowmeter.

The tests involved peeing into a Minze uroflowmeter basin, and at the same time three different microphones recorded the sound. The Minze uroflowmeter was prefilled with 400 ml of water at the bottom of the container, to ensure that the sound generated by the twinkle was against the water, simulating the conditions of a real toilet bowl. All participants were given instructions asking them to aim at the toilet water.

The results showed there was very good correlation between using the smart devices and the ‘gold standard’ device.

Acoustics 2023 Sydney 4-8 Dec 2023

Acoustics 2023 in Sydney will be an enormous joint conference between:

  • The Acoustical Society of America
  • Australian Acoustical Society
  • WESPAC
  • PRUAC

The conference will be held in Sydney Australia from Monday 4 December to Friday 8 December 2023 at the International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney), Australia.

Abstract submissions are now open and close 24 July 2023.

Deep fake audio used for kidnapping ransom

A story on the New York Post describes a fake kidnapping and ransom demand using deep-fake audio of a 15-year-old girl from Scottsdale Arizona, USA. The kidnappers called the mom and claimed they had kidnapped her daughter, who was on a school ki-trip at the time, and demanded $US 1 million, but then lowered the ransom to $50k. The fake audio of the daughter sounded exactly like her daughter and were convinced it was their daughter. The parents called the police, and they confirmed the daughter was safe on the excursion.

Acoustics 2021 postponed 21-23 Feb 2022

The Acoustics 2021 conference, originally planned for November 2021 in Woollongong, New South Wales, Australia has been postponed until 21-23 February 2022.

New South Wales currently (2021-08-28) has an outbreak of COVID-19, currently 13,880 active cases, so holding a face-to-face conference presents a risk to potential attendees.

Internoise 2021 virtual conference

Internoise 2021 conference

The Internoise 2021 conference, 50th International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering, will be held in the virtual (online) mode only. The conference goes from 1 – 5 August 2021. The Congress schedule is in the New York (or Washington DC, US eastern) time zone. Use https://www.timeanddate.com/ to convert to local times. The congress program is from 6:00am to 9:00pm, with featured lectures and events from 9:00am to 11:00am.

The book of abstracts has been published.

Microsoft updates Project Acoustics

Microsoft has updated the Project Acoustics software package for Unity and Unreal gaming software platforms.

The Project Acoustics release 2.0 for the Unreal and Unity engines include:

  • Unreal
    • Dynamic openings – handle changes in geometry at runtime
    • Acoustics probe volumes
      • Material override – set acoustic material for all meshes within a volume
      • Material remap – swap material names for all meshes within a volume
      • Probe spacing – change probe spacing within a volume
    • Acoustics runtime volumes – update design parameters within a volume
    • Pinned probes – place your own probes
  • Unity
  • Faster bake times – Acoustic simulations are twice as fast as before
  • Various bug fixes and performance improvements

For more info on the new release, read more on the Microsoft tech community blog post.