A case study of smartphone based platform for mapping and analyzing environmental noise in Singapore

Abstract

In this paper, we present a smartphone based platform for mapping and analyzing environmental noise. Smartphones are used to record environmental noise (both audio and sound pressure level) as well as locations (latitude, longitude, and accuracy). The recorded data is uploaded to a server and noise map of a region is generated using the location information along with the sound pressure levels (SPL) at those locations. Noise maps can used to discover sources of noise in a region and also to compare SPL between different places. Thus, they can be an important tool to help implement mitigating steps for reducing noise or planning future developments. To illustrate the capabilities of the platform, we present a case study of noise mapping with five educational institutes and five residential neighborhoods in Singapore. We present noise maps for these places and discuss possible sources of noise. We also discuss potential reasons for observed differences in equivalent continuous sound pressure level between different educational institutes, and residential neighborhoods.