Echos : a real time sound quality monitoring system for evaluation of the ambient acoustic environment

Increasing levels of high performance sound equipment and portable motors has brought about convenience and higher quality entertainment to mankind, but also escalates the risk of suffering from Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). The current methods of sound measurement are rather passive and lack the “human touch”. This thesis attempts to structuralise a procedure for the assessment of human hearing perception when exposed to sources of noise in the ambient environment. A portable system is set up to allow mounting in areas where quality of sound is to be determined. Through the integration of the FPGA module in MyRIO and LabVIEW, data collected by the MEMS microphone is analysed and a rating is provided. The application possibilities of the system are broad, ranging from understanding the possible hazards of common household appliances, monitoring the level of sound quality in workstations or at events to better provide an objective representation of noise as perceived by the average human ear. This can be applied to provide concrete evidence of being affected by noise, further reducing the level of annoyance faced by residents who find themselves exposed to unjustifiable noise pollution.Bachelor of Engineerin