Audiocommunication and Technology

The goal of this paper was to assess audio fingerprinting algor- ithms focusing on the feature extraction methods being used in each case. Based on this evaluation, we realized a benchmarking procedure and draw conclusions concerning their strengths and weaknesses. We tested four implementations of different ap- proaches in terms of their reliability and robustness against vari- ous impairments, to a lesser extent concerning other common requirements. Our test results verified the improved performance of approaches based on energy peak detection. The trade-off between different quality criteria was investigated and clarified. Our testings could facilitate the design of an improved approach, which handles every kind of degradation successfully.

Subject of this master thesis is the automatic following of a music score through analysis of sound caused by playing a keyboard instrument. This thesis suggests an algorithm embedded in an e-learning application developed to learn to play a keyboard instrument. Well-known approaches based on Onset Detection and Pitch Chroma features (a.k.a. Pitch Class Profiles) are used to detect played tones and chords in order to trace their chronological sequence and follow them on a virtual musical score. The e-learning application including the Score Following algorithm are based in the web domain and therefore can be executed in modern web browsers.

Microsound is an approach to sound synthesis and analysis that focuses on time scales of a few milliseconds. The idea is that any sound can be composed of thousands of brief sound particles. Operations on a micro time scale influence the spectrum of objects on higher time scales. This approach is derived from an institutional framework and is very popular among composers. Parallel to the development of microsound, non-institutional musicians and artists discovered digital synthesis approaches. We can distinguish between institutional and independent microsound. Other than institutional composers the artists of independent microsound use digital technology for their own purposes and elevate digital error to the status of an aesthetic object. They try to escape the traditional framework of music in order to find organization in non-organization. For a start this bachelor thesis is about sorting the different terms surrounding independent microsound. This will point out the importance of the interaction of sound objects with each other, the listener and the context to enable a definition of the genre.
The second part of the bachelor thesis deals with two forms of particle synthesis derived from institutional microsound, i.e. granular synthesis and pulsar synthesis. It is difficult to control the high number of particles necessary to synthesize sounds. Eco-Structuralism proposes to use sonic structures derived from natural sounds as structural elements to form compositions and sounds. These new sounds are supposed to retain the aesthetic quality and the cultural context of the source material. I want to examine this interaction of sound objects – namely sound particles and eco-structures – from an aesthetic and contextual point of view.
The bachelor thesis summarizes the different acpects of microsound and points out the importance of context and the interaction of sound objects.

keywords: independent microsound – institutional microsound – expanded sonic field – aesthetics of failure – post-digital – Clicks & Cuts – granular synthesis – pulsar synthesis – eco-structuralism – soundscape composition

Yasunao Tone, born 1935, is a Japanese intermedia artist with interests in indeterminate techniques, chance operations and improvisation. In 1984, two years after its commercial launch, Tone began modifying Compact Discs – in the artist’s own words: ‘wounding’ them – by attaching pieces of adhesive tape onto its surface. Correctly done, this preparation renders laser tracking information on the data carrier unreadable and thereby produces unpredictable glitching sounds and a stuttering version of the original content. In my article I argue that Tone’s Staged performance Solo for Wounded CD (1995) can be considered as non-cochlear sonic art, as a postmodern sonic practice.

Die emotionale Wirkung von Musik auf den Menschen wird in zahlreichen Studien themati-siert. Dabei werden zahlreiche inter-individuelle Faktoren des Embodiment zu ihrem Einfluss auf die Emoti-onsempfindung untersucht. In dieser Arbeit wird der aktuelle Forschungsstand anhand vorliegender Literatur zusammengefasst und Erkenntnisse zu den einzeln untersuchten Features (u.a. Empathie, verkörperte Expertise, musikalische Expertise, Stimmung, Persönlichkeit) extrahiert. Ein Schwerpunkt wird dabei auf die Betrachtung des Geschlechts, ebenfalls aus Gender-theoretischer Sicht, gelegt. Für wissenschaftliche Studien müssen diese sogenannten Listener Features auf empirische Weise erfasst werden. Doch genau darin liegt die Schwierigkeit, wenn dabei theoretische Anforderungen an empirische Messverfahren erfüllt sein sollen. Daher werden im Rah-men dieser Arbeit einige allgemeingültige, sowie speziell das Geschlecht betreffende, Hinweise zur Erfassung per Fragebogen gegeben, um eine möglichst erfolgreiche Datenerhebung zu ermöglichen.

This paper introduces a Natural User Interface (NUI) that enables interaction in a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE). The tracking of the head and hand in a CAVE usually takes place with the help of magnetic tracking systems or marker-based optical tracking systems. In both cases the user has to wear a number of instruments. In contrast, the CAVE at the HTW Berlin uses two depth detection cameras (currently Microsoft Kinect) and the data provided is then merged. This records the user's entire skeleton without the use of instruments and it allows applications to be controlled by a NUI. CAVE systems are usually used for virtual reality applications. The application described in this case visualises the CAVE itself, creating a spatial augmented reality system in which the user can interact directly with the real CAVE. The physical CAVE walls are aligned to the virtual walls so that the user can touch the walls and receive realistic haptic feedback.

We present ReTiSAR (Real-Time Spherical Array Renderer), an open-source implementation of real-time binaural rendering of signals obtained from spherical microphone arrays. The implementation was performed in Python and bases on the previously published SOFiA toolbox as well as on sound_field_analysis-py. We can confirm that Python together with the other tools employed constitutes a viable framework for this kind of heavy-computation application even under real-time constraints. The current version of ReTiSAR is able to render signals of up to 8th order on a standard laptop computer.

This paper introduces a Natural User Interface (NUI ) that enables interaction in a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE). The tracking of the head and hand in a CAVE usually takes place with the hel p of magnetic tracking systems or marker-based optical tracking systems. I n both cases the user has to wear a number of instruments. In contrast, the CAVE at the HTW Berlin uses two depth detection cameras (currently Microsoft Ki nect) and the data provided is then merged. This records the user's en tire skeleton without the use of instruments and it allows applications to be con trolled by a NUI. CAVE systems are usually used for virtual reality a pplications. The application described in this case visualises the C AVE itself, creating a spatial augmented reality system in which the user can inte rac directly with the real CAVE. The physical CAVE walls are aligned to the vi rtual walls so that the user can touch the walls and receive realistic hapt ic feedback.

Spherical microphone arrays are used to capture spatial sound fields, which can then be rendered via headphones. We use the Real-Time Spherical Array Renderer (ReTiSAR) to analyze and auralize the propagation of sensor self-noise through the processing pipeline. An instrumental evaluation confirms a strong global influence of different array and rendering parameters on the spectral balance and the overall level of the rendered noise. The character of the noise is direction independent in the case of spatially uniformly distributed noise. However, timbre of the rendered self-noise changes with head orientation in the case of spatially non-uniform noise. We determine audibility thresholds of the coloration artifact during head rotations for different array configurations in a perceptual user study.

The current emergency response concept for the International Space Station (ISS) includes the support of the Flight Control Team. Therefore, the team members need to be trained in emergencies and the corresponding crew procedures to ensure a smooth collaboration between crew and ground. In the case where the astronaut and ground personnel training is not collocated it is a challenging endeavor to ensure and maintain proper knowledge and skills for the Flight Control Team. Therefore, a virtual 3D simulator at the Columbus Control Center (Col-CC) is presented, which is used for ground personnel training in the on-board emergency response. The paper briefly introduces the main ISS emergency scenarios and the corresponding response strategy, details the resulting learning objectives for the Flight Controllers and elaborates on the new simulation method, which will be used in the future. The status of the 3D simulator, first experiences and further plans are discussed.

Sensor self-noise is an important aspect in the design of spherical microphone arrays. We consider the application of binaural rendering of spherical microphone array signals in this paper. We use the Real-Time Spherical Array Renderer (ReTiSAR) to analyze the frequency-dependent whitenoise-gain i.e., the improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) between a selected microphone of the array and the binaural output signals. The configuration of the array as well as of the processing pipeline have been shown to strongly influence the spectral properties and the overall level of the noise in the binaural signals. We found that arrays with small radii reduce the SNR by approximately 8 dB unless a strong limitation of the radial filter gain is applied. Some array configurations with larger radii and number of microphones (above spherical harmonics order 4) are capable of increasing the SNR in the rendered signals by up to 9 dB. We also found variations in the spectral properties of the rendered self-noise as a function of the head orientation for higher-order Lebedev grids.

The presentation of extended reality for consumer and professional applications requires major advancements in the capture and reproduction of its auditory component to provide a plausible listening experience. A spatial representation of the acoustic environment needs to be considered to allow for movement within or an interaction with the augmented or virtual reality. This thesis focuses on the application of capturing a real-world acoustic environment by means of a spherical microphone array with the subsequent head-tracked binaural reproduction to a single listener via headphones. The introduction establishes the fundamental concepts and relevant terminology for non-experts of the field. Furthermore, the specific challenges of the method due to spatial oversampling the sound field as well as physical limitations and imperfections of the microphone array are presented to the reader. The first objective of this thesis was to develop a software in the Python programming language, w...

Copyright applies. A non-exclusive, non-transferable and limited right to use is granted. This document is intended solely for personal, non-commercial use. Terms of Use Böldt, Sebastian; Steffens, Jochen; Büttner, Clemens; Weinzierl, Stefan (2020): Modellierung von Publikumsgeräuschen bei Veranstaltungen mit Sprache und Musik. In: Fortschritte der Akustik DAGA 2020: 46. Deutsche Jahrestagung für Akustik. Berlin: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Akustik e.V. pp. 850–853. Sebastian Böldt, Jochen Steffens, Clemens Büttner, Stefan Weinzierl

This paper is the first to examine the influence of sociodemographic characteristics of listeners on the tendency to extreme response style (ERS) in psychoacoustical experiments. ERS can be described as the trend to exploit the edges of the rating scale in quantitative surveys leading to a systematic deviation of the respondents' reported values from the true values. According to the psychological literature, we assumed that ERS is more pronounced in women compared to men. Furthermore, we expected that ERS increases with ascending age of people and increasing duration of the survey. To test our hypotheses, we re-analyzised the data obtained by Weinzierl et al. (2018). In their study, 190 subjects rated their acoustical impression of 35 binaurally simulated rooms by means of the Room Acoustical Quality Inventory (RAQI). Results of linear mixed-effect models did not reveal any significant influences of age on ERS. In contrast, results confirmed our assumption that women show a significantly higher frequency of ERS than men, as well as increasing duration of the survey leads to a higher ERS. The results therefore highlight the role of ERS in sound evaluations and the need to consider this moderating factor when conducting and analysing psychoacoustical experiments.