NOISE DETECTOR WITH A WARNING DEVICE

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An Undergraduate Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Engineering Program University of Immaculate Conception Davao City

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In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering

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by

Carreden Fred Villegas Cawaling Francis Ray Largo Duque

April 2012

2 Chapter 1 PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING Introduction All sounds that are distracting, annoying, or harmful to everyday activities such as work, rest, entertainment, study and so forth are regarded as noises. In fact, any sound judged by the recipient as undesirable can be considered as a noise. (Chan, 2008) According to the World Health Organization's Guidelines for Community Noise, noise is an increasing public health problem. Noise can have the following adverse health effects: hearing loss; sleep disturbances; cardiovascular and psycho-physiologic problems; performance reduction; annoyance responses; and adverse social behavior. Noise is prevalent nowadays. This is due to the advent of industrialization and technology. Certainly, noise is in our environment. Other notable effects of noise are the learning styles of people specially those that are in the academe. As cited Bronzaft in 2002, noise problem in the classroom can cause learning delays. There are specific places inside campus that noise is prohibited or discouraged like in the library, classrooms, and study hall. Still, some students ignore the signages posted. In the library, students go there to study lessons and finish assignments but they cannot focus due to noise coming from students specially when there are no personnel assigned to watch over them. In a classroom setting, the teacher and students discuss their lessons but suddenly are disturbed due to students who interferes the class by talking too loud. Even study halls are sometimes often treated as only a place to chat and not to study. This problem is generally common to all personnel in the academe.

3 In the Philippines, there is a lot of noise from different areas, namely, in streets, sidewalks, overpass, schools, bus and train stations and the like. Many vehicles have different types of car alarm sounds instead of normal horns. (Noise in the Philippines, 2011) Thus, the researchers of this study intend to create a device which could help warn people if the environment is too noisy. As a reference and testing area, the researchers plan to test the device in the University of the Immaculate Conception college department.

Statement of the Problem This study aims to create a device which warns the users to limit the noise creation and be observant to the allowed noise level. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions: 1. What are the features of the noise detector with a warning device? 2. How efficient is the device in terms of the following aspects? a. Noise sensitivity b. Output c. Light Emitting Diode (LED) display

Significance of the Study The researchers believe that the device can be beneficial to the following: Students. This device can help the students to adjust the noisy environment by providing them a device that prevent their noise through giving a warning to observe silence.

4 Teachers. This device can help the teachers to their works and make their discussion more effective because they can focus only on teaching rather than shouting for giving warning to their students. Administrators. This device helps the administrators to minimize the noise problems in the certain area of the school campus especially in the classrooms. Researchers. This device helps the researchers for inventing similar devices.

Scope and Delimitation The Noise Detector with a Warning Device can detect noise intensity. The device has a warning device that can help in the noise awareness of the people inside the room. The device can detect as low as 30dB noise level and it can give warning when it rises up to 75dB, but it has no indicator if the noise reaches for those levels. The device has a one (1) microphone place at the ceiling to sense the level of noise inside a closed room. The sensor or the microphone is wireless and it is battery operated along with its own transmitter. The device can give warning to the people inside a closed room by having a LED display output when the noise level of a room reaches 75dB and above. When the device is giving a warning, it disables the sensing of noise level to avoid signal feedback. The user can set the time of 24 hours for the whole day operation of the device. On the other hand, the device has its delimitations. The device cannot bear to also sense the noise in the environment. It can pick up noise especially those that are near it. Heavy noise for instance heavy rains, a band parade or any other source of noise that could reach the set level 75dB. With this, the researchers suggest the user to turn off the device for it can cause malfunction. The sensor and Rx/Tx part of the device are battery operated, so when the battery is empty the device cant sense any and does not function.

5 The output or main part of the device is plugged to an AC outlet; the device does not work when it is not able to have the required voltage supply. This device also cant display any level of noise in terms of db. In case of brownout the user should manually change the setting of the device again.

Definition of Terms The proponents have provided the definitions of the following terms for clearer and better understanding of the discussed concept. Noise. It is the unwanted sound coming from the voice of the people or any object like vehicles and other machines. Warning Device. It is a device that can alarm the people if they commit violations. Microphone. It is a transducer that converts sound energy into electrical energy. Amplifier. It is a device used for increasing the power of an input signal. Transmitter. Transmit information signal going to the receiver. Receiver. It is also considered as simplex, it can receive information one at the time. Noise Level. It is the level of noise or sounds in terms of dB. Wireless microphone module. It is a microphone module that has no physical cable connecting to the amplifier. It is battery operated, it has radio transmitter that transmit the audio signal from the microphone going to the receiver.

Chapter 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Related Literature The Noise effect on People The intense noise could cause a hearing impairment, Hypertension, ischemic heart disease, annoyance, and sleep disturbance. A noisy environment like in the airport where an aircraft produces an intense noise could bring an impact to the health of the people surround that workplace. Elevated workplace or other noise levels can create stress, increase workplace accident rate, and stimulate aggression and other anti-social behaviors. Noise exposure especially, in an intense level noise can affect the physical and the psychological behaviors of the person induce in the prolonged exposure.

Effects of noise to Human behavior According to Nathan Azrin form his study of Some Effects of Noise on Human Behavior there are some changes in the human behavior form noise. There is a large change of the behavior of the human when exposed to a high intensity of noise in a long duration of time.

Noise as a disturbance for learning There are some studies about the learning effect of the students at a crowed location. According to Maxwell and Evans (1993), noise can affect the childs progress in learning at a crowded room (70-75dBA) noise level. The students are hardly cant focus on the discussion inside the room. It could also affect with the motivational aspect of the

7 student. The attention will be divided in a crowed area. A divided attention can be a factor of losing the focus in learning.

Noise Effects in learning According to Louise M. McDonald (1999), the effects of noise in learning could vary considerably, depending on the characteristics and duration of the noise, and the behavior through which learning is being measured. There are even some other species like in animals that has responses in the noise intensity increases. From a series of test it shows that as the noise intensity increases, behavioral effects increases.

Teachers complain about the uncontrolled noise of students There is an article in the net saying about the teachers complain about the noise of their students. The Article reported that the teachers are having a hard time dealing with the students and would even interrupt the lessons prepared by the teachers. The article is concern about the uncontrolled noise of the students. Students will be hard to control and their behavior will begin to change if the teachers wont do any actions that can stop or minimizing the noise at their classes.

Observing Silence The rule number one of any Library is to observe silence. This is to avoid any unnecessary noise or disturbance for people who are studying or wanting to have a silent environment. The library is one of the establishments that are serious in implementing this rule. Silence is a key in better concentration that is indeed a tool for learning.

8 Noise and Hearing According to Arline L. Bronzaft,PH.D.(2002), many are suffering actual hearing noise. United States of America has estimated approximately ten million people suffiring from hearing loss. Loud sounds can be harmful and it brings a lot of health issues for the people. Many people, including children and adults, are now being exposed to very loud sounds in their homes and recreational settings, making them more vulnerable to potential hearing loss.

Level of noise in Classrooms The American National Standards Institute is recommending a sound level in classrooms. The classrooms should have 35-68dBA noise setting in rooms. Classrooms that over to 75dBA is the level which is very noisy and the level would be compared to the steady noise in a construction sites. The American National Standards Institute is also recommending classrooms to maintain the level ranges to 35-68dBA for the effective communication inside the classrooms. Decibels According to the article Tinnitus Treatment Guide in 2010, decibel is the unit use in calculating the intensity of sounds. The decibel takes into account the sensitivity of human ears to different pitches of sound. Its logarithmic principle means that an increase or decrease of three decibels reflects a doubling or halving of loudness. This means that 57 decibels is half as loud as 60 decibels, whereas 63 decibels is twice as loud as 60 decibels. Strangely, though, a person with normal hearing perceives a sound as doubling only when it is ten times louder. For instance, our ears tell us that 70 decibels is

9 twice as loud as 60 decibels when, actually, it is 10 times louder. To the human ear, 1 decibel is usually the smallest detectable change in volume level.

Related Studies There are some built devices through studies now that are related to the research. Devices that are involve in detecting sound. Sound sensors such as microphone which can detect a sound and converts it to electrical signal are very helpful in developing the study for noise. Microphones are the most common device in sensing sound. Noise can be measured now by the help of the newly built device which is the portable mini measure devices noise meter. The device is simply measures the noise intensity. Another device that is similar is the noise level detector. It measures the level of noise at a certain area then analyzes its intensity that its been getting. These devices are related to the study because it measures noise which is the aim of the study. Related to this, there is another device that is sound monitoring. The device is called the room sound level detector. The device is more on the monitoring the rooms sound level. There is another study by Kwang-seok jeong, Min-hee and Hyun-joong Kim.There to help the hearing impaired keep in touch with the world at large. The said study aimed to invent a device that is helpful for the hearing impaired persons. Also, it can detect sound and analyzed the distance and the position vibrating accordingly, giving the user valuable information on their surroundings. For the hearing impaired this device is a gift from heaven. Another helpful research which aimed to be very helpful in spying. Like this device Spy Pen, spy pen has a sound detector that can record voices. The spy device has other features; it can take video, save images and it has a massive capacity of 8GB flash

10 memory. The spy pen device can also be use as a standard USB memory stick to conveniently transport an important file. Since, it is a pen it is very convenient to carry and it is truly flexible item that can be use by anybody. Studies like inventing a clapping are mainly use in automating the switching of the light. It could also be use as the main security of the house. The device is also using microphone in detecting the sound. It reads a sound that would be the key in switching the device then would light the bulb. It is widely distributed now in the market.

11 Technical Flowchart

Wireless Microphone Module

Transmitter

Receiver

Amplifier

PIC
Control Circuit LCD

LED Display

Figure 1. Noise Detector with a Warning Device for Laboratory Rooms Flow Process

Figure 1 shows the technical flow chart of the noise detector and warning device for laboratory room. The first phase of the flow chart is the microphone or the sound sensor of the device. Condenser microphone is the type of sensor that will be using. The

12 device aims to detect noise level that ranges from 30-80dBA. Condenser microphones can pick up the aimed noise level detection. Next is the pre-amplifier of the microphone which amplifying the signal that the microphone pick up. After amplifying the signal, it will be thrown to the transmitter. The transmitted signal will be received by the receiver and to be amplify again by the amplifier and relay the data to the PIC. The PIC is acting as the brain of the system which analyzes the signal and triggering its output. The PIC will be depending on the variable time control when to operate. The variable time control is the set time of the user when the device can operate. The output of the device is the LED display and the buzzer. The output of the device will depend on the PIC.

13 Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY The chapter will be discussing the research design, research locale, instrumentation design, functionality test procedure, evaluators of the study, research sampling procedure, financial plan, and time line/gantt chart.

Research Design The research design will be composed of a two phase evaluation, experimental development and descriptive methods. The first phase will be the experimental development which refers to systematic work that draws from existing knowledge gained from research and/or practical experience that is directed to produce new materials, products and devices, install new processes, systems and services, and substantially improve those already produced or installed (DOST Administrative Order No. 006, 2004). The second phase will be the descriptive research method. Descriptive research design is a scientific method which will involve observing and describing the behavior of the device without influencing it in any way. The device will be observed by its advantages and disadvantages. The researchers will gather answered validated questionnaires from evaluators of the device.

Research Locale The study will be conducted and evaluated at the University of the Immaculate Conception (UIC). UIC is a pioneering in the field of Electronics Engineering. The University is a PAASCU accredited which was granted an autonomous Status by CHED in 2005.

14 Instrumentation Design The noise detector with a warning device will be using condenser microphone as the sound sensor. The condenser microphone can pick up sound level ranges 30-130dBA which will be the right for the aim of the device to pick up 33-70dBA sound level detection. The sensor is connected to the pre-amplifier that will booze the signal that the sensors been getting. The boozed signal that comes from microphone pre-amplifier will be thrown to the transmitter. The transmitter is a battery operated and has a thirty (30) meters range. The device has two parts, the first part is the sensor or the microphone placed the ceiling with its transmitter and the main part is pack with a receiver, PIC, and the output which is the LED display. The main part of the device will be placed at the front which can be noticed right away. The receiver will receive the transmitted data and relay it to the PIC. The PIC (16f877) has a pack Analog- Digital Converter (ADC) that will analyze the data accordingly. The seting for PIC to function will be controlled by the push boton. The seting will be 24 hours and the time can be displayed in the LCD. The LCD will be displaying the hour (up to 24 hours), minutes (up to 60 minutes), and seconds (up to 60 seconds). The output of the device will be the LED display, the LED display will be displaying SILENCE. The outputs will have an AC voltage supply.

Functionality Test Procedure The functionality test procedure will be the guide for the proper handing and operating the device. The first thing to do is to set up the device. Place the microphones at the ceiling along with its transmitter, and then switch it on. The next thing to do is to set the main part of the device at the front which it can be noticed right away. The main

15 part of the device is pack with the receiver, PIC, LCD with push boton, and the outputs. The main part of the device will be plugged to an AC outlet for the voltage supply of the device. Switch on the device and set the time in 24 hours. The device can now, monitor the noise level inside the laboratory and display an output when its noise level rises up to 75dB. The device will disable the sensing of noise when the output where operating or displaying. The outputs have time duration of five (5) seconds and will enable the sensing afterwards. The output will have a LED display SILENCE.

Evaluators of the Study The evaluators for this device will be five (5) Engineers/ Instructors from University of Immaculate Conception who better know the craft of making the device and have insights from their own perspective fields of engineering. Also, five (5) students will assess the device.

Research Sampling Procedure Purposive is the method use for the evaluation of the device. The device will be evaluated by a set of engineers that has an idea for the flow of the device and has a better background for evaluating the designed device using their own respective fields of engineering. The noise detector with a warning device will also be evaluated by a set of students for they are generally the end users and beneficiary of the device.

Financial Plan The researches plan to provide a budget scheme for the implementation of the device. The budget will be based on the requirements needed for the completion of this

16 device. Logistics will be considered upon the procurement of materials, printing, transportation and other necessary courses of actions. The financial plan will be projected as follows for the procurement of materials: Materials Wireless microphones Amplifier Pre-Amplifier PIC(16f877) LED LCD Casing Transformer Other materials: Relays Resistors PCB Opto Isolators Wires 1,000 _________________ Total : 7,525 Php. Quantity 1 1 1 1 230 1 1 3 Prize 1,200 400 200 450 2.50 650 1,700 450 Total 1,200 400 200 450 575 650 1,700 1,350

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