Extracting boundary conditions for sound propagation calculations using augmented reality

• Published in: Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik Vol. 138; no. 3; pp. 197 - 205
• Main Authors: Sporr, Andreas, Blank-Landeshammer, Brigitte, Kasess, Christian H., Drexler-Schmid, Gerwin H. S., Kling, Stephan, Köfinger, Christian, Waubke, Holger, Reichl, Christoph
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 01.06.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Augmented reality; Boundary conditions; Computer Hardware; Electrical Engineering; Electronic devices; Engineering; Heat pumps; Mathematical analysis; Originalarbeit; Propagation; Relocation; Software Engineering/Programming and Operating Systems; Sound propagation; Sound sources; object identification with augmented reality; Visualisierung der Schallausbreitung mit Augmented Reality; visualization of sound propagation with augmented reality; outdoor sound propagation; Objektidentifikation mit Augmented Reality; Schallausbreitung im Außenbereich
• ISSN: 0932-383X; 1613-7620
• DOI: 10.1007/s00502-021-00884-3

The number of air-to-water heat pumps has increased over the last years, resulting in a rising number of installed outdoor units. These objects constantly emit noise into the environment during the heat pumps’ runtime. To avoid conflicts with neighbors or even a relocation of the already placed heat pump, an app is developed to estimate the emitted sound of the virtual heat pump on site. This publication presents adapted sound calculation methods suitable for outdoor use and on mobile devices. Based on this, boundary conditions are specified that must be met by the sound data of the respective sound source and the objects recorded on site using augmented reality in real time. Both the determination of the sound data and the identification of objects using AR are explained in detail. Furthermore, different virtual objects that alter the sound propagation can be placed in the real environment and configured with sound-relevant properties. This allows the estimation of the usefulness of sound-reducing measures already before realization. An example of the identification of individual objects, the placement of virtual walls and heat pumps, and the final visualization of the sound propagation in different ways on the mobile device is presented.