EMBEDDED ENGINEERING

Acoustic consulting

Testing & certification

Acoustic simulation

Noise exposure & dosimetry

Offshore acoustic measurements

STI training seminars

Embedded Engineering provides specialized acoustic consulting. Our acoustics consultants, besides being academically trained, also draw from their own research experience and have active involvement with ISO, IEC etc. Having developed various acoustic test instruments (among which our own product line Bedrock Audio) we are beyond "power users" of these tools.

Testing and certification of PAVA systems

Public Address and Voice alarm systems usually have to comply with performance requirements in terms of various acoustic parameters, including sound pressure level and the Speech Transmission Index. Whether the venue is an airport, a shopping mall, a train station or an office building, each system has its own specific characteristics and challenges.

However, the certification requirements are usually quite similar: a wide range of standards imposes requirements based on Speech Transmission Index. The industry standard for measuring the Speech Transmission Index, the STIPA method, was originally developed by the embedded acoustics team. The very same team members who worked on STIPA are responsible for our PA/VA certification working, making them uniquely qualified.

Acoustic simulation

A common challenge when designing sound systems is to be able to predict performance of the system before the system is installed, or the building is even built. The solution is to model the situation (including building geometry and sound systems) and run acoustic simulations.

Embedded Acoustics has an array of tools at its disposal to perform such acoustic simulations, targeted at predicting everything from expected sound levels to speech intelligibility. We use industry standard simulation tools (such as Ease) in combination with our own proprietary software for even the most challenging designs.

Occupational noise exposure and noise dosimetry

While regulations on noise exposure limits in the workplace are generally quite clear, measuring real-life exposure can be challenge. Task- or activity based calculations can be unreliable and may under- or overestimate the actual risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Embedded Acoustics has the tools and expertise for "standard" noise exposure surveys (e.g. conforming to ISO-9612, using dosimeters conforming to IEC-61252), but can also take on more complex studies.

For example, situations in which sound produced by headsets needs to be taken into account to compute the overall dose require specialized knowledge and equipment. The same is true if the residual exposure (inside the ear canal) when wearing (custom-molded) earplug needs to be assessed. Embedded Acoustics has ample experience in such studies in a variety of settings (firing ranges, motorcycle or vehicle noise, aircraft noise and industrial noise). Among our customers we count organizations from law enforcement, defense and a variety of industries.

Offshore acoustic measurements

Embedded Acoustics is known to apply its knowledge to technical consulting projects in a wide variety of application fields, ranging from trains to airplanes, and from road tunnels to concert halls. Offshore activities are particularly challenging and require specific certifications.

Embedded Acoustics staff have acquired the necessary certificates for working on offshore platforms anywhere in the North Sea region (NOGEPA, OPITO, OLF).

Services offered to the offshore sector include all types of acoustic measurements, including speech intelligibility measurements for verification and evaluation of evacuation systems and general announcement systems.

STI training seminars

We offer three basic variants of our STI training seminars:

Advanced STI course.

This in-depth seminar takes two days is ideal for power users

and STI developers. The theoretical foundations of the STI are taught and illustrated through a variety of different application examples.

STIPA bootcamp.

This one-day seminar takes a more practical approach then the Advanced STI seminar, focusing on use of the STI in practice (backed up with a primer on the underlying theory).

Introducing the STI.

This half-day seminar is intended for new users of the STI (and STIPA) and focuses completely on the use of STI test equipment in practice.

All three variants comprise a "hands-on" training element, during which you get to work with the STI using either equipment of your choice (that you bring to the seminar) or one of our Bedrock SMxx meters.

We currently have no seminars planned that are open to general registration.

All of our seminars are also offered as in-company training events, in which case we tailor our materials to precisely match your interests. We currently organize 6 to 10 of these seminars per year, mostly at customers' locations in Europe, China and the US. Our in-company events tend to be more cost-efficient than "open" seminars if 3 or more people from the same organization plan on attending.