Jordan Cheer

Bio: Jordan Cheer is an academic researcher from University of Southampton. The author has contributed to research in topics: Active noise control & Loudspeaker. The author has an hindex of 18, co-authored 101 publications receiving 1050 citations. Previous affiliations of Jordan Cheer include Samsung.

Robustness and Regularization of Personal Audio Systems

Abstract: As well as being able to reproduce sound in one region of space, it would be useful to reduce the level of reproduced sound in other spatial regions, with a “personal audio” system. For mobile devices this is motivated by issues of privacy for the user and the need to reduce annoyance for other people nearby. Such personal audio systems can be realized with arrays of loudspeakers that become superdirectional at low frequencies, when the array dimensions are small compared with the acoustic wavelength. The design of the array then becomes a compromise between performance and array effort, defined as the sum of mean squared driving signals. Various methods of formulating this tradeoff as a regularization problem have been suggested and the connection between these formulations is discussed. Large array efforts are due to strongly self-cancelling multipole arrays. A concern is then the robustness of such an array to variations in the acoustic environment and driver sensitivity and position. The design of an array that is robust to these uncertainties then leads to a generalization of regularization.

Mapping sources of noise in an intensive care unit

Abstract: © 2019 The Authors. Anaesthesia published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association of Anaesthetists Excessive noise in hospitals adversely affects patients’ sleep and recovery, causes stress and fatigue in staff and hampers communication. The World Health Organization suggests sound levels should be limited to 35 decibels. This is probably unachievable in intensive care units, but some reduction from current levels should be possible. A preliminary step would be to identify principal sources of noise. As part of a larger project investigating techniques to reduce environmental noise, we installed a microphone array system in one with four beds in an adult general intensive care unit. This continuously measured locations and sound pressure levels of noise sources. This report summarises results recorded over one year. Data were collected between 7 April 2017 and 16 April 2018 inclusive. Data for a whole day were available for 248 days. The sound location system revealed that the majority of loud sounds originated from extremely limited areas, very close to patients’ ears. This proximity maximises the adverse effects of high environmental noise levels for patients. Some of this was likely to be appropriate communication between the patient, their caring staff and visitors. However, a significant proportion of loud sounds may originate from equipment alarms which are sited at the bedside. A redesign of the intensive care unit environment to move alarm sounds away from the bed-side might significantly reduce the environmental noise burden to patients.

Modeling local active sound control with remote sensors in spatially random pressure fields

Abstract: A general formulation is presented for the optimum controller in an active system for local sound control in a spatially random primary field. The sound field in a control region is selectively attenuated using secondary sources, driven by reference sensors, all of which are potentially remote from this control region. It is shown that the optimal controller is formed of the combination of a least-squares estimation of the primary source signals from the reference signals, and a least-squares controller driven by the primary source signals themselves. The optimum controller is also calculated using the remote microphone technique, in both the frequency and the time domains. The sound field under control is assumed to be stationary and generated by an array of primary sources, whose source strengths are specified using a spectral density matrix. This can easily be used to synthesize a diffuse primary field, if the primary sources are uncorrelated and far from the control region, but can also generate primary fields dominated by contributions from a particular direction, for example, which is shown to significantly affect the shape of the resulting zone of quiet.

Active control of vibration, 1st edition

Abstract: This book is a companion text to Active Control of Sound by P.A. Nelson and S.J. Elliott, also published by Academic Press. It summarizes the principles underlying active vibration control and its practical applications by combining material from vibrations, mechanics, signal processing, acoustics, and control theory. The emphasis of the book is on the active control of waves in structures, the active isolation of vibrations, the use of distributed strain actuators and sensors, and the active control of structurally radiated sound. The feedforward control of deterministic disturbances, the active control of structural waves and the active isolation of vibrations are covered in detail, as well as the more conventional work on modal feedback. The principles of the transducers used as actuateors and sensors for such control strategies are also given an in-depth description. The reader will find particularly interesting the two chapters on the active control of sound radiation from structures: active structural acoustic control. The reason for controlling high frequency vibration is often to prevent sound radiation, and the principles and practical application of such techniques are presented here for both plates and cylinders. The volume is written in textbook style and is aimed at students, practicing engineers, and researchers.