Build Your Own Office Podcast Studio

Build Your Own Office Podcast Studio

How to convert existing office spaces into professional-sounding recording studios

Media Contact:
Larry Frum
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

SEATTLE, November 30, 2021 — Converting newly emptied office spaces into podcast studios poses noise challenges not previously realized before hybrid offices began. Experts recommend considering location, nearby noise sources, and ways to absorb sound to make a studio effective.

During the 181st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, which will be held Nov. 29-Dec. 3 at the Hyatt Regency Seattle, Indi Savitala, from the CSDA Design Group, will discuss how to optimize existing spaces for use as podcast recording studios. The talk, “Converting an Empty Office to a Podcast Studio,” will take place Tuesday, Nov. 30, at 1:25 p.m. Eastern U.S.

Thanks to hybrid working models, offices are less busy and less noisy, meaning recording spaces can be used more often, and newly empty private offices can become podcast studios.

But existing spaces present multiple acoustic challenges — single-glazed windows, nearby noise sources, and limited available surface area, to name a few. Offices with audio-visual components with frequent audio playback or speakerphone usage also impede recording.

To help, Savitala and his team offer criteria and recommendations for optimizing recording spaces.

“Since offices are being partially occupied, people have become more sensitive to noise,” said Savitala. “HVAC and sound masking noise that was previously deemed acceptable are now considered ‘noisy,’ and clients are requesting lower background noise levels.”

According to their criteria, the primary focus should be on potential noise sources. Converting an interior office may be beneficial if it is distanced from open-plan areas and the surrounding offices are not often used. Exterior offices may have less adjacent noise pollution but may be exposed to traffic noise.

“The addition of minimal absorptive treatments will make a huge difference for recording,” said Savitala. “Selecting podcast-friendly microphones and popfilters can make a huge difference and do not have to be expensive or high-end products.”

The team recommends considering the visual component of recording studios.

“It is popular for podcast shows to have accompanying video for social media posts,” said Savitala. “Therefore, providing aesthetically pleasing room finish treatment options is important.”

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
USEFUL LINKS
Main meeting website: https://acousticalsociety.org/asa-meetings/
Technical program: https://eventpilotadmin.com/web/planner.php?id=ASAFALL21
Press Room: https://acoustics.org/world-wide-press-room/

WORLDWIDE PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Worldwide Press Room will be updated with additional tips on dozens of newsworthy stories and with lay language papers, which are 300 to 500 word summaries of presentations written by scientists for a general audience and accompanied by photos, audio and video. You can visit the site during the meeting at https://acoustics.org/world-wide-press-room/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
We will grant free registration to credentialed journalists and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, staff at media@aip.org can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

Adding Sound to Electric Vehicles Improves Pedestrian Safety

Adding Sound to Electric Vehicles Improves Pedestrian Safety

Study participants noticed cars before the minimum safe detection distance in most cases

Media Contact:
Larry Frum
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

SEATTLE, November 30, 2021 — While they decrease sound pollution, electric vehicles are so quiet, they can create a safety concern, particularly to the visually impaired. To address this, many governments have mandated artificial sounds be added to electric vehicles.

In the United States, regulations require vehicle sounds to be detectable at certain distances for various vehicle speeds, with faster speeds corresponding to larger detection distances. Michael Roan, from Penn State University, and Luke Neurauter, from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, and their team tested how well people detect electric vehicle sounds in terms of these requirements.

Roan will discuss their methods and results in the talk, “Electric Vehicle Additive Sounds: Detection results from an outdoor test for sixteen participants,” on Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 1:25 p.m. Eastern U.S. at the Hyatt Regency Seattle. The presentation is part of the 181st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, taking place Nov. 29-Dec. 3.

Participants in the study were seated adjacent to a lane of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute’s Smart Road facility and pressed a button upon hearing an approaching electric vehicle. This allowed the researchers to measure the probability of detection versus distance from the vehicle, a new criterion for evaluating safety compared to the mean detection distance.

“All of the cases had mean detection ranges that exceeded the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration minimum detection distances. However, there were cases where probability of detection, even at close ranges, never reached 100%,” said Roan. “While the additive sounds greatly improve detection distances over the no sound condition, there are cases where pedestrians still missed detections.”

Even after adding sound, electric vehicles are typically quieter than standard internal combustion engine vehicles. In urban environments, they would create less sound pollution.

Roan said further studies need to be done to investigate detection when all vehicles at an intersection are electric. Additive sounds could create a complex interference pattern that may result in some loud locations and other locations with very little sound.

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
USEFUL LINKS
Main meeting website: https://acousticalsociety.org/asa-meetings/
Technical program: https://eventpilotadmin.com/web/planner.php?id=ASAFALL21
Press Room: https://acoustics.org/world-wide-press-room/

WORLDWIDE PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Worldwide Press Room will be updated with additional tips on dozens of newsworthy stories and with lay language papers, which are 300 to 500 word summaries of presentations written by scientists for a general audience and accompanied by photos, audio and video. You can visit the site during the meeting at https://acoustics.org/world-wide-press-room/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
We will grant free registration to credentialed journalists and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, staff at media@aip.org can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

Stuttering Starts at Speech Initiation, Not Due to Impaired Motor Skills

Stuttering Starts at Speech Initiation, Not Due to Impaired Motor Skills

Theory suggests anomalies in the brain’s initiation circuit cause stuttering

Media Contact:
Larry Frum
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

SEATTLE, November 30, 2021 — About one in 20 people go through a period of stuttering during childhood. Until the latter half of the 20th century, stuttering was believed to be a psychological problem stemming from lack of effort or from trauma.

However, techniques in neuroimaging are leading to a much better understanding of brain function during speech and how stuttering arises. Frank Guenther, from Boston University, will present his findings on the origins of stuttering at the 181st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, which runs from Nov. 29 to Dec. 3, at the Hyatt Regency Seattle. The talk, “A neurocomputational view of developmental stuttering,” will take place Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 2:15 p.m. Eastern U.S.

Guenther compares speech to a jukebox that plays CDs. The jukebox has two circuits: one that chooses a CD and one that plays the CD.

Inside the brain, this corresponds to one circuit initiating the desired speech in the basal ganglia, while another circuit coordinates the muscles needed to generate the speech. Stuttering stems from the initiation of speech, so only the first of the two circuits is impaired.

“In stuttering, the CDs themselves are fine, but the mechanism for choosing them is impaired,” said Guenther.

This theory matches behavioral observations of stuttering. People will often speak words fluently later in a sentence, even if the same words cause stuttering at the beginning of a sentence.

Guenther and his team created computational models of how the speech initiation circuit performs in a nonstuttering individual. Because Parkinson’s disease also affects the initiation circuit, they can compare these models directly to data taken from the basal ganglia during deep brain stimulation surgery in patients with the disease.

“This gives us a fighting chance of finding the specific problems underlying stuttering and addressing them with highly targeted drugs or technological treatments that have minimal unwanted side effects,” said Guenther.

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
USEFUL LINKS
Main meeting website: https://acousticalsociety.org/asa-meetings/
Technical program: https://eventpilotadmin.com/web/planner.php?id=ASASPRING22
Press Room: https://acoustics.org/world-wide-press-room/

WORLDWIDE PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Worldwide Press Room will be updated with additional tips on dozens of newsworthy stories and with lay language papers, which are 300 to 500 word summaries of presentations written by scientists for a general audience and accompanied by photos, audio and video. You can visit the site during the meeting at https://acoustics.org/world-wide-press-room/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
We will grant free registration to credentialed journalists and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, staff at media@aip.org can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

Echolocation Builds Prediction Models of Prey Movement

Echolocation Builds Prediction Models of Prey Movement

Bats use echoes of own vocalizations to anticipate location, trajectory of prey

Media Contact:
Larry Frum
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

SEATTLE, November 30, 2021 — Bats are not only using their acoustical abilities to find a meal — they are also using it to predict where their prey would be, increasing their chances of a successful hunt.

During the 181st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, which will be held Nov. 29 to Dec. 3, Angeles Salles, from Johns Hopkins University, will discuss how bats rely on acoustic information from the echoes of their own vocalizations to hunt airborne insects. The session, “Bats use predictive strategies to track moving auditory objects,” will take place Tuesday, Nov. 30, at 1:50 p.m. Eastern U.S.

In contrast to predators that primarily use vision, bats create discrete echo snapshots, to build a representation of their environment. They produce sounds for echolocation through contracting the larynx or clicking their tongues before analyzing the returning echoes. This acoustic information facilitates bat navigation and foraging, often in total darkness.

Echo snapshots provide interrupted sensory information about target insect trajectory to build prediction models of prey location. This process enables bats to track and intercept their prey.

“We think this is an innate capability, such as humans can predict where a ball will land when it is tossed at them,” said Salles. “Once a bat has located a target, it uses the acoustic information to calculate the speed of the prey and anticipate where it will be next.”

The calls produced by the bats are usually ultrasonic, so human hearing cannot always recognize such noises. Echolocating bats integrate the acoustic snapshots over time, with larger prey producing stronger echoes, to predict prey movement in uncertain conditions.

“Prey with erratic flight maneuvers and clutter in the environment does lead to an accumulation of errors in their prediction,” said Salles. “If the target does not appear where the bat expects it to, they will start searching again.”

By amalgamating representations of prey echoes, bats can determine prey distance, size, shape, and density, as well as identify what they are tracking. Studies have shown bats learn to steer away from prey they deem unappetizing.

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
USEFUL LINKS
Main meeting website: https://acousticalsociety.org/asa-meetings/
Technical program: https://eventpilotadmin.com/web/planner.php?id=ASASPRING22
Press Room: https://acoustics.org/world-wide-press-room/

WORLDWIDE PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Worldwide Press Room will be updated with additional tips on dozens of newsworthy stories and with lay language papers, which are 300 to 500 word summaries of presentations written by scientists for a general audience and accompanied by photos, audio and video. You can visit the site during the meeting at https://acoustics.org/world-wide-press-room/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
We will grant free registration to credentialed journalists and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, staff at media@aip.org can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

5pBA4 – A noninvasive ultrasound device to treat urinary stones in pet cats

Adam Maxwell – amax38@uw.edu
Ga Won Kim – gawonkim@uw.edu
Elizabeth Lynch – elynch@apl.washington.edu
Brian MacConaghy – bmacconaghy@gmail.com
Eva Furrow – furro004@umn.edu
Jody Lulich – lulic001@umn.edu
Michael Borofsky – mborofsk@umn.edu
Michael R. Bailey – mbailey@uw.edu

Corresponding Author Address:
University of Washington
1013 NE 40th Street
Seattle, WA 98105

Popular version of 5pBA4 – A burst wave lithotripsy system for urinary stones in pet cats
Presented Friday, December 03, 2021
181st ASA Meeting, Seattle, WA
Click here to read the abstract

Like humans, cats grow stones in their kidneys. As these stones pass through the urinary tract, they can become stuck and block the outflow of urine. This obstruction can cause pressure in the kidney and may lead to kidney failure, pain, and other complications. Unfortunately, the minimally invasive technologies used in humans to break apart or remove stones can’t be used on a cat. A veterinarian’s only option for definitive treatment is a complex and costly surgery.

Our team has developed a new, noninvasive method to fragment kidney stones using a handheld ultrasound transducer placed against the skin of a patient. The ultrasound travels through the body and is focused onto a stone, were the high-amplitude pressure waves cause stresses that fracture the stone to pieces that are small enough to pass naturally through the urinary tract. This technology, called burst wave lithotripsy (BWL), has been demonstrated to be effective and safe in preclinical studies, and is now being tested in clinical trials in humans. The goal of this project was to adapt the technology to cats, so that we can provide a noninvasive option for treatment of their stones.

Because of the smaller anatomy of a cat vs. a human, the ultrasound transducer was scaled to a smaller size, and focused at a shorter depth from the skin where we anticipate the stones will be located. We also changed the ultrasound frequency emitted by the transducer. This characteristic controls the size of fragments remaining after the stone is broken apart. By using a higher frequency (650 kHz in cats vs. 350 kHz in humans), the stones are broken mostly into fragments less than 1 mm. Such fragments are usually small enough to pass through the ureter (the narrow tract between the kidney and bladder) and not obstruct urine flow.

BWL system designed for cats
Figure 1. The left image shows a BWL system designed for cats. The right image shows the small, handheld head of the therapy transducer, which is placed against the cat’s skin during a procedure.

We designed and built prototypes of the transducer and the electronics that power it. An ultrasound imaging probe was incorporated so a veterinarian or radiologist operating the system can use this imaging to target the stone before breaking it apart. The system was tested on natural feline stones in a benchtop experiment. Between 73-96% of the stone mass was reduced to fragments smaller than 1 mm, indicating a high probability of success in treatments.cat kidney stone

Figure 2. An ultrasound image of a cat’s kidney with a stone (yellow arrow). Ultrasound imaging is used to detect and target a stone.

cat calcium stone
Figure 3. (Left) A 3-mm natural feline calcium stone that was exposed to BWL and broke into several small fragments after treatment.

We are now preparing to perform veterinary clinical testing. Once its benefit is demonstrated, this technology could be made available as a safer and less invasive alternative to treat obstructing stones in cats. This work supported by NIDDK P01DK043881 and the EveryCat Health Foundation.