How high technology helps fight noise pollution

This fall, New York authorities installed special detectors on some city streets to identify sources of increased noise. Cameras equipped with microphones and a device for measuring volume levels above 85 dB at a distance of 5 meters and further should identify violators, against whom administrative measures will be taken. The main targets of such devices are those who like to listen to music in a car with the windows open at full volume, as well as vehicles with excessively loud engines, inoperative mufflers, abnormal horns, etc. Recently, the authorities of the USA, EU, other countries and regions have been taking active measures measures to combat noise pollution, which negatively affects people’s health and lives.

Pestilence, flood, war and noise

Scientists from different countries agree that increased noise harms human health no less than natural and man-made disasters and chronic diseases. Thus, experts from Harvard Medical School recently held A number of studies using positron emission tomography have found that increased noise from traffic negatively affects the amygdala of the brain, causing increased activity in it – this, in turn, leads to the release of the stress hormone cortisol. Chronic stress significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders. In addition, increased noise disrupts a person’s sleep, which also leads to risks of illness and nervous disorders (see. “The Story of a Crime”“Soyuzmultfilm”, 1962). In Europe alone, more than 6.5 million people suffer from sleep disorders caused by increased levels of traffic and other types of man-made noise.

By data Center for Disease Prevention and Prevention USA, About 22 million Americans are exposed to excessive noise at work. Scientists believe that noise levels of 85 dB (such as, for example, a lawn mower or drill) and above within 8 hours begin to cause a negative effect on the human body.

If the noise level is around 100 dB (for example, construction noise), then in this case a person can be near the noise source without protective equipment for no more than 15 minutes without health consequences.

In 2021 the authorities European Union put the goal is to reduce noise pollution from transport by 30% by 2030 compared to 2017. European Environment Agency (EEA) reports, that on average 20% of the EU population, that is, about 90 million people, are constantly exposed to increased noise from transport during the day. At night, about 60 million Europeans are forced to sleep with levels of traffic and other types of technical noise of 50 dB or higher, which is comparable to the sound of a conversation, noise from a large fan, etc.

In March, the European Commission published a detailed plan combating increased noise pollution. Applied to motor transport Several measures are proposed:

• use of modern “quiet” cars/tires (setting limits on tire noise);
• use in road construction of special mixtures for road surfaces that reduce noise levels;
• introduction of speed limits for vehicles.

On railways EU authorities also propose to use more modern low-noise joints and rails, as well as wagons / platforms / tanks, etc., and couplers for them. In this regard, the EU invites manufacturers and operators to focus on technical regulations on reducing noise on railways, adopted back in 2014.

In the field air transport in the EU since 2009 work recommendations allowing member countries to independently impose noise restrictions at their airports, preventing aircraft that exceed the norms from entering. The European Commission is now developing a new version of this regulation, which, among other things, will change the procedure for controlling noise from aircraft and will allow airports themselves to take measures to reduce noise from aircraft takeoff and landing.

Another promising direction for the EU authorities is the development electric transport, reducing not only the volume of harmful emissions into the atmosphere, but also the noise level. However, in the case of electric cars, a paradox has arisen – they are so silent that they can be dangerous for pedestrians.

Therefore, from 2019 in the EU entered due to the rule that all new electric cars sold in the EU must be equipped with an Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS). AVAS should automatically generate a sound at speeds from 20 km/h and below, as well as when reversing in the absence of other special sound signals. If the car is equipped with an internal combustion engine (applies to hybrids.— “Kommersant”), the AVAS system may not produce sound at these speeds if the engine itself produces sound. The system must be equipped with a mode switch that can be used by the driver of the vehicle. When you start the car, AVAS should turn on automatically.

The thunder of victory is not heard

While officials create new regulations and lay down rails to combat noise, high-tech companies are already offering innovative solutions that go beyond the now-traditional noise barriers along highways.

For example, Israeli startup Silentium has developed an active noise cancellation system similar to what has long been used in many headphones. Technology Quiet Bubble (“bubble of silence”) is a system of microphones and a miniature speaker that analyzes extraneous noise and generates a sound wave in the opposite phase of this noise, thereby neutralizing the unwanted sound.

“You can even place this device at the head of your bed if your partner snores loudly at night. The system will generate “anti-sound”, and the noise level from snoring will be significantly reduced,” notes Silentium head Yoel Naor.

The devices are so compact that you can carry them with you on an airplane or on a bus, generating a “bubble of silence” around you.

The Israeli company is already collaborating with Jaguar Land Rover to install such devices on cars, reducing noise levels in the cabin.

British Brigade Electronics has developed a device that can reduce the noise level from horns of construction and other special equipment. The device produces produces “white noise” with a certain range (5–10 meters), beyond which this signal can no longer be heard. Thus, the warning signals of the equipment will only be heard by workers or passers-by in the immediate vicinity of it, and not by the entire city block.

Spring of power Indian state of Goa, tired of complaints from local residents about noisy parties held on the beaches, they began installation special equipment that should bring the noise level there “in line with EU and US standards.” Velan Technologies’ systems measure noise levels at 12 of the state’s largest beaches and transmit information in real time to displays installed both on the beach itself and at surrounding police stations. The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) believes that this way, party organizers will not only be able to control the level of noise they produce, but also avoid conflicts with local residents and the police.

“Now we will have accurate data in real time,” says GSPCB head Mahesh Patil. “We will be able to map places where noise levels consistently exceed permissible limits. After several warnings, violators will be fined. However, the available data will also help the organizers of mass events themselves to challenge the complaints received against them if they are unfounded.”

Local authorities are increasingly using landscaping to combat noise.

So, for example, in Barcelona, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Paris and other cities, lawns have been laid between tram tracks for several years now, which reduce the noise level from passing trams. First Such tram tracks appeared back in 1924 in Liverpool, but only in recent years have European authorities begun to use this technology on a large scale to reduce city noise. Last year, Vienna authorities announced that more than 9 km of tram tracks would be equipped with anti-noise grass as part of a €37 million overhaul of the Austrian capital’s tram network.

In August of this year, the authorities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam started a pilot project in which road noise meters with displays will be installed on the streets. If a vehicle emitting noise above 83 dB passes by such a device, the message “Too Loud” lights up on the display. City officials hope that by doing so they can reduce noise from older or faulty cars, as well as from motorcycles and mopeds, the vehicles that receive the most noise complaints in the Netherlands. The data collected from the devices will be sent to the authorities, who can fine persistent violators up to €280.

Authorities could also impose fines ranging from $220 to $2,265 for excessively noisy horns or engines. New York. Special devices will help them identify such drivers, which the media have already called “noise monitoring cameras.” The New York pilot project began in Manhattan, but noise detectors from the British company SoundVue will soon also be installed in Miami (Florida) and Knoxville (Tennessee).

SoundVue director Roben Packham notes that the devices can not only detect noise from each passing device, but also use a camera to record the license plate number of the offender. “The device contains several microphones that analyze microdelays in incoming waves and allow you to isolate sound from different machines, even in a stream,” explains the head of the company.

Evgeny Khvostik