Electrical Engineering Capstone Project (Acoustic Localization) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: keithTO
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2013, 06:05:34 am
content: Hi everyone,We have just finished our capstone design project. We explored ways of interacting with a mobile device using acoustic taps. A demo is available at:Although our project is not building an electronic product, we have been inspired by Dave's blogs on various design aspects. Any suggestions on how to improve our project is appreciated (especially suggestions on more practical use cases)We have thought about building a virtual keyboard for mobile devices, but without a projector it is still cumbersome to use(i.e need to print out a keyboard)Thanks

author: Anquietas
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2013, 11:16:27 am
content: Perhaps it's my lack of imagination, but what are the applications of this?

author: keithTO
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2013, 08:34:40 pm
content: Yea, you are right. We are also having a hard time comping up with good use cases.The project was set out to see if its feasible to make a mobile device capable of detecting taps around it without using any extra equipment/attachment. Now that part is confirmed we are thinking of ways to use it for practical applications (if there is any)We would love to hear if you guys have any good ideas.

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2013, 09:43:09 pm
content: by using a more sensitive pickup it could be used for room occupant tracking on hard and some soft floors, there is actually a market for that in home automation, e.g. it hears you walking towards the kitchen at night so dimly turns on the kitchens light before you enter it,and in your case more importantly it seems to be relatively accurate in exactly where the noise originated from, overcoming some of the existing hurdles using cameras or pressure mat systems,

author: keithTO
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2013, 02:06:59 pm
content: Home automation tend to use custom-made hardware since the device is usually installed permanently. (instead of a tap-detection-add-on for mobile devices)I am wondering if there exists any cool idea that requires tapping to interact with a mobile phone.(It would be much easier to find practical applications if mobile phone comes with a projectorThen we could do stuff like: virtual keyboard, game etc)

author: qno
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2013, 08:41:05 pm
content: Maybe write an app for localizing disturbing noises.I sometimes have trouble localizing squeeks in the car, pcb's.If your app can determine between two neigboring capacitors wich one is squeeking?

author: JonnyBoats
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2013, 04:10:19 am
content: Can your app determine from what direction a sound came from? For example could a military unit use it to determine where a snipers bullet came from?

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2013, 04:29:37 am
content: If your app can detect direction precisely, at very busy bar table in noisy pub or club, certain unique taps sequence to inform the bartender like ordering and etc.

author: keithTO
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2013, 04:25:30 pm
content: Quote from: qno on March 17, 2013, 08:41:05 pmI dont think it can be used in this setting. It can differentiate between close sounds, but the thing is you need to calibrate first, letting the app know which sound corresponds to which location.

author: keithTO
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2013, 04:27:22 pm
content: Quote from: JonnyBoats on March 18, 2013, 04:10:19 amYea, this application has the same issue as previous one. unless the sniper is willing to help us calibrate his sound first

author: keithTO
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2013, 04:29:59 pm
content: Quote from: BravoV on March 18, 2013, 04:29:37 amThis is actually doable. we can associate a tap with each table, and then customer can tap at a specific location on their table to inform bartender he wants to order. The bartender will know which table is the sound coming from

author: JonnyBoats
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2013, 09:04:43 pm
content: How about a game like Jeopardy where contestants need to push a buzzer? You could have contestants "knock in" instead of "buzz in". This would permit the playing of such games on a tablet without the need for buzzer hardware.

author: keithTO
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2013, 11:19:18 pm
content: Quote from: JonnyBoats on March 18, 2013, 09:04:43 pmThis is a great idea, considering we have implemented exclusion of non-calibrated locations