Audio Devices Research Articles

Design of an Interactive Two-Way Telemedicine Service System for Smart Home Care for the Elderly.

In this paper, we deeply analyse and study the interactive telemedicine service system for elderly care in smart homes and design a data summarization method for large concurrent scenarios. The method first parses and reconstructs the data received by the system initially and then stores the reconstructed valid data into the local database, which realizes the fast data summarization under the heavy concurrency scenario. Secondly, a multiformat data adaptation method is designed for the problem that the data to be provided and processed are in various formats. The method uses a unified data format and adaptation process constraints to achieve centralized management of heterogeneous data from multiple sources, which provide a unified data support service for the system and upper-layer applications. Again, to deal with the application problem of highly correlated data, the data-sharing system provides data for each functional component of the telemedicine platform according to business requirements based on standardized data structure and unified storage management. This enables the barrier-free flow of multisource highly correlated data. When the consultation is in progress, the doctor can communicate with the patient with video and audio devices and, at the same time, can access the patient's historical medical records and the medical records uploaded by the patient; after the consultation is completed, the consultation doctor needs to fill in the consultation record. The consultation assistance module can statistically analyse the workload of doctors and other information according to the background data, and the telemedicine system will play an increasingly important role in the medical and health care business.

Real-time prediction of upcoming respiratory events via machine learning using snoring sound signal.

The aim of the study was to inspect the acoustic properties and sleep characteristics of a preapneic snoring sound. The feasibility of forecasting upcoming respiratory events by snoring sound was also investigated. Participants with habitual snoring or a heavy breathing sound during sleep were recruited consecutively. Polysomnography was conducted, and snoring-related breathing sound was recorded simultaneously. Acoustic features and sleep features were extracted from 30-second samples, and a machine learning algorithm was used to establish 2 prediction models. A total of 74 eligible participants were included. Model 1, tested by 5-fold cross-validation, achieved an accuracy of 0.92 and an area under the curve of 0.94 for respiratory event prediction. Model 2, with acoustic features and sleep information tested by Leave-One-Out cross-validation, had an accuracy of 0.78 and an area under the curve of 0.80. Sleep position was found to be the most important among all sleep features contributing to the performance of the 2 models. Preapneic sound presented unique acoustic characteristics, and snoring-related breathing sound could be deployed as a real-time apneic event predictor. The models, combined with sleep information, serve as a promising tool for an early warning system to forecast apneic events. Wang B, Yi X, Gao J, etal. Real-time prediction of upcoming respiratory events via machine learning using snoring sound signal. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(9):1777-1784.

Body-worn cameras ‘on the move’: exploring the contextual, technical and ethical challenges in policing practice

ABSTRACT The body-worn camera (BWC), an audio and video recording device, has been increasingly adopted by law enforcement across the globe. Drawing on a qualitative study, this paper will explore the use of these mobile devices in the UK and examine the challenges that have been faced during its implementation in two British police forces. In particular, we will discuss how these cameras move with the police officer’s bodily movements (both intentionally and unintentionally) and are used for policing purposes in different settings (such as urban and rural contexts or different operational units). Based on a set of semi-structured interviews with 26 police officers, this article will explore the contextual, technical and ethical challenges that hinder the use of BWCs in such settings. This study concludes that these practical and techno-social challenges are often interlinked. The context of use of these cameras and how they operate technically are connected, often raising significant ethical issues particularly for data management and storage. Ultimately it is argued that the operational perspective of the frontline officer is invaluable when designing and implementing technologies so they are policeman-proof.

Determinan Tingkat Pengetahuan Tentang Risiko Pemakaian Headset Dengan Sikap Penggunaan Headset Pada Mahasiswa

Headset refers to a pair of small loudspeakers that are worn on or around the head above the user's ear. World Health Organization (WHO) stated in 2019 that nearly 50% or 1.1 billion adolescents and young adults (12 to 35 years old) are at risk of hearing loss due to loud and long exposure to sound, including music they listen to through personal audio devices and the 2018 WHO projection shows that if no action is taken, there will be 630 million people living with hearing loss by 2030 and this number will continue to grow or 1 in 10 will experience hearing loss. The objective of this research is to determine a correlation between the students understanding of the headset usage risk and their attitudes of using headset at semester IV nursing students of STIKes Widya Dharma Husada Tangerang. The result of this research based on the data collected from the students showed that 21 students with well understanding of the headset usage risk have shown positive attitudes (32.3%). Meanwhile, 44 (67,7%) students with well understanding of the headset usage risk have shown negative attitudes. The result of the statistical calculation found that (p-value=0,421, α: 0,05). Therefore, it can conclude that there is no correlation between the students understanding of the headset usage risk and their attitudes of using headset. The suggestion based on this research is students should contribute by raising awareness about hearing loss and how to prevent it.

Investigation of a new method for sound generation \u2013 Advanced Digital Sound Reconstruction

The current loudspeaker market has a high demand for portable audio devices. Hence, the miniaturization of loudspeakers (microspeakers) is of great importance for manufacturers. Traditional loudspeakers – for example the electrodynamic loudspeaker – are the forerunners, but so-called MEMS loudspeakers (Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System) have emerged recently. MEMS devices have already been used for sensors (i.e., microphones) to a great extend due to their advantages regarding form factor and production efficiency. Albeit additional challenges for actuators like moving enough air with a microstructure – as it is the case for a loudspeaker – the usage of MEMS technology for loudspeakers is very attractive.Since especially low-frequency audio signals often pose problems for microspeakers, this article focuses on a new sound generation technique called Advanced Digital Sound Reconstruction (ADSR) which is especially well-suited for low-frequency audio signals since ADSR can generate more volume displacement relative to its size. Based on a general description of the principle, an outlook of the possibilities regarding achievable sound pressure compared to the classical excitation scheme is derived. Furthermore, measurements are presented, which aim to prove the concept of ADSR based on already existing actuators.

Determining the core vocabulary used by Sepedi-speaking children during regular preschool activities

Purpose In order to provide equitable communication intervention and support services to clients from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, the development of language-specific resources for assessment and intervention is needed. The purpose of the study was to develop a core vocabulary list based on language samples from Sepedi-speaking children, in order to make it available as a resource to inform vocabulary selection for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems for children in need of AAC from a Sepedi language background. Method The speech of six typically developing Sepedi-speaking children aged 5–6 years was recorded using small body-worn audio recording devices. Children were recorded during their regular pre-school day. The recordings were transcribed, coded and analysed. Result The composite transcript consisted of 17 579 words, of which 1023 were different words. The core vocabulary was determined by identifying all words that were used with a minimal frequency of 0.05%, and were used by at least half of the participants. The Sepedi core vocabulary consisted of 226 words that accounted for 88.1% of the composite sample. Conclusion The core vocabulary determined in this study represents a small pool of reusable linguistic elements that form the grammatical framework of the Sepedi language. As such, is a valuable resource that can be used to assist with vocabulary selection for children who require AAC and who come from a Sepedi language background.

Deep multiple instance learning for foreground speech localization in ambient audio from wearable devices

Over the recent years, machine learning techniques have been employed to produce state-of-the-art results in several audio related tasks. The success of these approaches has been largely due to access to large amounts of open-source datasets and enhancement of computational resources. However, a shortcoming of these methods is that they often fail to generalize well to tasks from real life scenarios, due to domain mismatch. One such task is foreground speech detection from wearable audio devices. Several interfering factors such as dynamically varying environmental conditions, including background speakers, TV, or radio audio, render foreground speech detection to be a challenging task. Moreover, obtaining precise moment-to-moment annotations of audio streams for analysis and model training is also time-consuming and costly. In this work, we use multiple instance learning (MIL) to facilitate development of such models using annotations available at a lower time-resolution (coarsely labeled). We show how MIL can be applied to localize foreground speech in coarsely labeled audio and show both bag-level and instance-level results. We also study different pooling methods and how they can be adapted to densely distributed events as observed in our application. Finally, we show improvements using speech activity detection embeddings as features for foreground detection.

An Indirect Eavesdropping Attack of Keystrokes on Touch Screen through Acoustic Sensing

This paper demonstrates the feasibility of a side-channel attack to infer keystrokes on touch screen leveraging an off-the-shelf smartphone. Although there exist some studies on keystroke eavesdropping attacks on touch screen, they are mainly direct eavesdropping attacks, i.e., require the device of victims compromised to provide side-channel information for the adversary, which are hardly launched in practical scenarios. In this work, we show the practicability of an indirect eavesdropping attack, KeyListener, which infers keystrokes on QWERTY keyboards of touch screen leveraging audio devices on a smartphone. We investigate the attenuation of acoustic signals, and find that a user's keystroke fingers can be localized through the attenuation of acoustic signals received by the microphones in the smartphone. We then utilize the attenuation of acoustic signals to localize each keystroke, and further analyze errors induced by ambient noises. To improve the accuracy of keystroke localization, KeyListener further tracks finger movements during inputs through phase change and Doppler effect to reduce errors of acoustic signal attenuation-based keystroke localization. In addition, a binary tree-based search approach is employed to infer keystrokes in a context-aware manner. The proposed keystroke eavesdropping attack is robust to various environments without the assistance of additional infrastructures. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the accuracy of keystroke inference in top-5 candidates can approach 90 percent with a top-5 error rate of around 6 percent, which is a strong indication of the possible user privacy leakage of inputs on QWERTY keyboard.

Pedagogic Competency Analysis of Teachers in Indonesia

This research was conducted through a qualitative approach. The method used in this research is descriptive method. The instruments used were observation sheets, interview guides, audio and video recording devices and teacher administrative documents. For data testing, data triangulation techniques are used. Furthermore, the data were analyzed using the following steps data collection; data reduction; data display, and verification and conclusion. The results showed that 1) the pedagogical competence of the teacher in managing the learning process at SMP Negeri 1 Prabumulih was classified as good; 2) the obstacles faced by teachers in managing the learning process are teachers' lack of understanding of the 2013 curriculum; scoring system; teachers only rely on textbooks or teacher handbooks in delivering learning materials without trying to find other relevant learning sources; lack of use of learning media; and teachers' inadequate ICT skills; 3) there has been no real effort made by the majority of teachers in overcoming obstacles faced in the management of the learning process.

Analysis of potential risk of hearing loss among students using personal audio devices

Background: Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is on the rise, affecting nearly 1.1 billion young people as per the World Health Organization. It is mainly due to exposure to noise in recreational settings for prolonged duration and at high intensity resulting in unsafe listening practices. Aim and Objective: This study aims to analyze the potential risk of audio device usage and hearing loss among the students. Materials and Methods: Hearing loss among students using personal music player with headphones/earphones was assessed using a self-designed audiometry mobile application and followed by a questionnaire to those found to have hearing loss asking for their preferences of personal audio devices, usage in terms of years, duration per day, volume, content, and awareness of NIHL. Results: Among the 3000 students, 3.2% (96) of students were identified with hearing loss and 72% of the total subjects were unaware of NIHL. About 81% (78) were headphones users as compared to 19% (18) earphones users. About 50% of the subjects with hearing loss had reported usage of a personal audio device for more than 6 h per day followed by 30% who used it for 4–6 h, 16% who used it for 2–4 h followed by 4% who used it for 1–2 h per day. About 90% of students used volume settings more than 60% and 10% preferred 60–40% volume settings. About 65% of the subjects were using audio devices for more than 6 years and 16% for

A Swept-Sine-Type Single Measurement to Estimate Intermodulation Distortion in a Dynamic Range of Audio Signal Amplitudes

In the world of real audio systems, it is extremely important to model and identify their nonlinear behavior, especially in the case of professional audio devices. In this context, it is useful to have a quantitative estimation of the nonlinearity degree of the device, which can be obtained by exploiting an efficient and rapid measurement methodology. In this article, we propose an original estimation technique targeting the third-order intermodulation distortion (IMD) and based on a single detection. The proposed technique can be implemented both on devices operating in baseband and in bandpass. Starting from the same single detection, the technique allows to give either an estimate of the third-order IMD for the signal level actually used and to extrapolate the estimate of the IMD to signal levels different from the one actually used. Experimental verifications on real audio devices have allowed to validate the procedure in operational situations, thus confirming the validity of the proposed approach.

РАСПОЗНАВАНИЕ РЕЧЕВЫХ СООБЩЕНИЙ РАДИООБМЕНА В АВИАЦИИ НА БАЗЕ КОРРЕЛЯЦИОННОГО АНАЛИЗА

The paper considers the problem of speech messages recognition in phraseological radio exchange for tasks of civil aviation. The introduction substantiates the relevance of this problem. The following are research methods based on correlation analysis. Finally, a description of the experiment and the results of the recognition algorithms based on correlation analysis are given. Various variants were recorded for five speech messages and spectral representations of such signals were constructed. Spectral transform can be obtained either using specialized software or based on the Fourier transform of the signal in the time domain. To obtain a more universal reference signal and eliminate the influence of interference, the spectral components of the same speech message recorded several times were averaged. In fact, three spectra of the same speech message were used for averaging. This spectrum averaging over three training components provided a reference sample of phrases or patterns for each phrase, and reduced the influence of additive white Gaussian noise in the reference. Later, on the basis of correlation analysis, the connections between test phrases and all patterns were calculated. On the basis of these connections, a correlation matrix of reference phrases is built. Research has shown that phrases spoken by one person were highly correlated. The analysis showed that the choice of the class (the content of the speech message) when solving the recognition problem corresponding to the value of the correlation coefficient closest to one provides over 90% of correct recognitions on a test sample containing a total of 100 phrases, 20 for each phrase. It should be noted that, when recording test messages, an additive white Gaussian noise was additionally present as a background, reproduced by another audio device. In the case of information analysis without artificially generated noise, the probability of correct recognition for a test sample of 100 phrases, 20 for each phrase, is 100% when using correlation analysis.

Registered nurses' perspectives on barriers of cervical cancer screening in Swaziland: a qualitative study.

Introductioncervical cancer is highly preventable and curable if diagnosed and treated early, however, it is still the leading cause of death among women. Despite efforts to increase cervical cancer screening, its uptake is still low. The purpose of the study was to investigate the perspectives of registered nurses on barriers of cervical cancer screening in Swaziland.Methodsan exploratory qualitative design was used for the study. Face to face in depth interviews were conducted with 15 registered nurses using an interview guide. The study was conducted in four clinics from both the private and public sectors, which were purposively sampled. Interviews were captured using an audio recording device, they were transcribed verbatim and then analysed using thematic analysis.Resultsfour themes emerged which were deterrents to cervical cancer screening. These were perceived client barriers, health care system related barriers, nurse related barriers and the nature of the procedure.Conclusionthese barriers to service provision need to be addressed by extensive health education to women as well as the cervical cancer screening programme to provide all resources required to increase the uptake of screening.

Digital technologies in the care of people with diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.

To map evidence on the use of digital technologies in the care of people with diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a scoping review, based on the JBI manual, which included scientific articles and gray literature from nine primary and seven secondary databases. Articles were independently assessed by two reviewers. Rayyan® was used to select the studies. The description of study characterization is presented in a table and tables, ending in a narrative synthesis. A total of 1,964 studies were identified and, after selection, 23 publications remained for analysis. It turned out that telemedicine was used in all studies and remote consultation support technologies included continuous glucose monitoring devices, glucose data analysis software, insulin delivery systems, applications, audio and/or voice communication devices, which facilitated remote diabetes mellitus monitoring and management. Telehealth, monitoring technologies, insulin delivery systems and communication devices were tools used to monitor patients with diabetes during the pandemic.

Automatic Railway Road Crossing (RLC) Traffic Light System for Metric Gauge Railway Network in Tanzania

The verdict has been established that Railway Level Crossings (RLCs) present possible risk to roads users. Because of the ever-increasing number of vehicles on the road every day, it was determined that employing automation at level crossings can be beneficial to both road and railway users' safety. The aim is to develop an automated railway level crossing system that would reduce the likelihood of collisions between trains and road users at intersections. From the perspective of a railway level crossing, the conditions safeguards must meet is straightforward - Before a train passes, there must be a complete stop for all road users. Two RFID sensors and Ultrasonic sensors are used located at strike-in and strike-out points at the level crossing. Detection of automobiles stuck on the railroad once the train has activated the automation at the RLC is performed by the Ultrasonic sensor. Other warning measures in the system include an automated barrier, Light Emitting Diode flashing lights, and an audio alarm device. Arduino UNO and ESP32 were used as microcontrollers to perform all the logical operations and control commands. Consequently, the next train station from RLC was updated of the incoming train’s Expected Time of Arrival (ETA). The time it takes for the barriers to close will be determined by the train’s speed. In this project work, the prospective application strategy for securing railroad crossings is described in detail. It is the best feasible control of the level crossing by using the train detection system.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward the use of personal audio devices among high school students in Buraydah, Al-Qassim

Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward the use of personal audio devices among high school students in Buraydah, Al-Qassim

Phenomenon of music-induced opening of the blood-brain barrier in healthy mice.

Music plays a more important role in our life than just being an entertainment. For example, it can be used as an anti-anxiety therapy of human and animals. However, the unsafe listening of loud music triggers hearing loss in millions of young people and professional musicians (rock, jazz and symphony orchestra) owing to exposure to damaging sound levels using personal audio devices or at noisy entertainment venues including nightclubs, discotheques, bars and concerts. Therefore, it is important to understand how loud music affects us. In this pioneering study on healthy mice, we discover that loud rock music below the safety threshold causes opening of the blood-brain barrier (OBBB), which plays a vital role in protecting the brain from viruses, bacteria and toxins. We clearly demonstrate that listening to loud music during 2 h in an intermittent adaptive regime is accompanied by delayed (1 h after music exposure) and short-lasting to (during 1–4 h) OBBB to low and high molecular weight compounds without cochlear and brain impairments. We present the systemic and molecular mechanisms responsible for music-induced OBBB. Finally, a revision of our traditional knowledge about the BBB nature and the novel strategies in optimizing of sound-mediated methods for brain drug delivery are discussed.

Measurement of nonlinear distortion of MEMS microphones

An experimental investigation on the nonlinear behaviour of the MEMS microphones is of rising interest as their use is growing rapidly not only in the domain of consumer audio devices but also in the measurement applications where higher precision is needed. The present work uses a recently published method allowing a distortionless harmonic excitation at high-pressure levels to measure and examine the distortion of single backplate MEMS microphones. The measured distortion is compared with the values predicted by a simple model of the nonlinearities originating in the electrostatic transduction principle. A good agreement between the predicted and the measured values of the second harmonic is shown. The level of the third harmonic is influenced by nonlinear effects not taken into account in the simple model and therefore deviates from the predicted values.

EAR CANAL INSERTION-TYPE PIEZOELECTRIC BONE CONDUCTION ACTUATOR OF BRIDGE STRUCTURE

Hearing loss in people is increasing because of a rise in the usage of wireless audio multimedia devices. Hearing aids are used as representative hearing rehabilitation devices. Bone conduction hearing aids are recommended for problems in the eardrum and middle ear. Bone conduction is classified according to the driving method into two types, electromagnetic and piezoelectric. Electromagnetic bone conduction causes skin disease and aesthetic problems due to transplantation, high power consumption, and external interference. Piezoelectric bone conduction converts electrical energy into mechanical vibrations, and the characteristics change linearly with size. However, the driving force of ear canal insertion of the piezoelectric body is limited because of the ear canal anatomy. In this paper, a piezoelectric actuator with a bridge structure inserted into the ear canal is proposed. The proposed method is that the displacement amplification ratio was derived using the formula of a bridge-type structure, and the displacement and resonance frequency were derived by finite element analysis (FEA) using different variables. The piezoelectric actuator was fabricated on the basis of FEA simulation results and verified through an artificial mastoid for stimulation in the ear canal. It is expected that the proposed piezoelectric actuator can be used in the various fields for sound and precision control.

Wireless control system for spy devices based dual tone multi frequency technology

Obtaining information is one of the most important requirements for intelligence works, spy surveillance cameras and listening devices are among the important means for this. One problem of using these means is a mechanism of controlling them to sustain their work efficiently for the perpetuating of achieving the purpose of their installation. In this research, the problem of controlling these devices has been overcome, by designing asystem dependent on the dual tone multi frequency (DTMF) and global system for mobile(GSM) networks. In the proposed work, designing and implementing a system to remotely and wirelessly control of the movement of spy cameras in all directions as well as the ability to control the on/off listing audio device anytime and anywhere. The proposed mechanism is implementedby dividing the work into nine modes, with each one performing one specificfunction. These work modes are used to control all system activities such as control the horizontal directional motor (HDM) to change the spy camera in different horizontal directions, control the vertical directional motor (VDM) to change the camera in vertical directions and control the working status of the listening device.