The improved automatic control points computation for the acoustic noise level audits

Abstract

The acoustic noise level in the interior is one of the quantities specified by a standard and is subject to audits to ensure a comfortable living environment. Currently, the noise level audits are performed manually by a skilled operator, who evaluates the floor plan and uses it to calculate the control points location in which the measurement is performed. The computation is proposed to automate the audit by formulating an optimisation problem for which an algorithm was designed. The algorithm computes the solution that satisfies all constraints specified in the standard, for example, the minimum distance among the control points and fixed obstacles (walls or columns). In the proposed optimisation problem, the fitness function was designed based on the measurement purpose, and two typical use-cases were analysed: (i) long-term stationary noise measurement and (ii) recurring short-term noise measurement. Although the set of control points for both use cases complies with the given standard, it is beneficial to distinguish the location of control points based on the measurement purpose. The number of control points is maximised for the stationary noise and for the immediate coverage area for the short-term noise. The proposed algorithms were tested in a simulation for several floor plans of different complexity.