Computer tells difference between wood and concrete
A new tool for acoustic simulation in buildings offers new possibilities to perform this via computer modelling. This software enables the operator to move walls, or make a change of building materials, as the simulation proceeds, which results in instant changes in the acoustic effect.
So far, acoustic simulations have rquired quite a lot of manual effort, but the new tool does remove details of no interest to the acoustic environment automatically; it also simplifies some complex components at the same time. This enables the operator to make continuous alterations of an environment in the course of the simulation.
– This is the very first time one may walk about inside a fairly complex type of edifice – and listen to its acoustics at the same time, says Gert Svensson, senior scientist at KTH and head of the Uni-Verse Project; an EU undertaking hosting the simulation project effort.
Just like other software tools being developed under the auspices of the Uni-Verse project, the new program could use the 3-D model of an ordinary CAD program. In addition, this is compatible with several of the Virtual Reality programs used in the computer game industry.
UVAS, the new tool (”Uni-Verse Acoustic Simulator”), was introduced at a large European IT fair in Helsinki last week. The acoustic part of the project was mainly performed at the Interactive Institute in Stockholm, jointly with the Helsinki University of Technology.