Article
Robokopp: Robotic Setup for Automated Sweet Spot Measurements with Head Simulators and Microphone Arrays (en)
* Presenting author
Abstract:
In multichannel loudspeaker reproduction, the deviation of sound field properties away from the ideal listening position – colloquially known as the sweet spot – is challenging to investigate by measurement as this requires substantial effort in precise and reproducible sensor positioning as well as time for carrying out repeated measurements.This work presents a robotic setup and automated measurement procedure designed to facilitate such measurements. Using a robot arm, a motion capture system and custom software, the setup can be used to perform room acoustic measurements with dummy heads, individual microphones or microphone arrays in various grids of measurement positions. Open for customization and application in contexts other than sweet spot evaluation, measurement software and 3D-printable mounting hardware are provided in an open-source repository.The system is implemented in a listening room and a comparison of loudspeaker impulse responses between the robot-based setup and an equivalent setup using a microphone stand is carried out. In order to evaluate the acoustic influence of the robot compared to the generic mounting solution, impulse responses obtained using a head simulator and a spherical microphone array are analyzed.