AcMus - Project

This research project focuses on the investigation of issues related to the design, control and acoustic treatment of environments tailored for musical activities. Our group will study the most relevant aspects determining the acoustic quality of a physical environment, which influence the production and reception of musical material. The project will initially focus on the investigation of small-sized rooms (auditoria, studios, small theaters, home-theaters, classrooms), even though its results may be later expanded for other kinds of environments.

The core of the project lies in the development of a software system (ACMUS) that will be used in the investigation, measurement and simulation of acoustic behavior of small rooms. This software will employ advances computational tools including optimization and heuristic techniques, and will be used in the design and enhancement of musical spaces, as well as in the investigation of several acoustic parameters influencing musical production and reception.

In summary, the project goals are:

1) to study the acoustic parameters that determine the quality of music listening rooms, with emphasis to small- and medium-sized rooms;

2) to develop a prototype of a software system, ACMUS, capable of performing acoustic measurements, as well as simulations of the acoustic behavior of musical environments;

3) to supply tools for the development of adequate projects of music spaces, or for the correction of the acoustic behavior of musical environments;

4) to apply state-of-the-art technologies of software development based on components, in order to obtain flexible, extensible, and adaptable systems; and

5) to enable the emergence of an interdisciplinary musical acoustics research group.

By the end of the project, the results will be tested with a practical case study. It will consist of the analysis of a small room with ACMUS, the adequate acoustic treatment of this room based on the result of these analyses, and the subsequent re-evaluation of the acoustic behavior of the room. This will be a practical verification of the effectiveness of the tools developed during the project.

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		AcMus - GROUP OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOFTWARE FOR ACOUSTICAL CALCULUS, ANALYSIS, AND SIMULATION OF ROOMS FOR MUSICAL PRACTICE

		This research project focuses on the investigation of issues related to the design, control and acoustic treatment of environments tailored for musical activities. Our group will study the most relevant aspects determining the acoustic quality of a physical environment, which influence the production and reception of musical material. The project will initially focus on the investigation of small-sized rooms (auditoria, studios, small theaters, home-theaters, classrooms), even though its results may be later expanded for other kinds of environments. The core of the project lies in the development of a software system (ACMUS) that will be used in the investigation, measurement and simulation of acoustic behavior of small rooms. This software will employ advances computational tools including optimization and heuristic techniques, and will be used in the design and enhancement of musical spaces, as well as in the investigation of several acoustic parameters influencing musical production and reception. In summary, the project goals are: 1) to study the acoustic parameters that determine the quality of music listening rooms, with emphasis to small- and medium-sized rooms; 2) to develop a prototype of a software system, ACMUS, capable of performing acoustic measurements, as well as simulations of the acoustic behavior of musical environments; 3) to supply tools for the development of adequate projects of music spaces, or for the correction of the acoustic behavior of musical environments; 4) to apply state-of-the-art technologies of software development based on components, in order to obtain flexible, extensible, and adaptable systems; and 5) to enable the emergence of an interdisciplinary musical acoustics research group. By the end of the project, the results will be tested with a practical case study. It will consist of the analysis of a small room with ACMUS, the adequate acoustic treatment of this room based on the result of these analyses, and the subsequent re-evaluation of the acoustic behavior of the room. This will be a practical verification of the effectiveness of the tools developed during the project.