Development and validation of a test platform for spatial ecoacoustic technologies
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
Microphone arrays and direction of arrival estimation algorithms have become increasingly capable and accessible, furthering EcoAcoustics/Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) practitioners' capacity to analyse the spatial features of natural soundscapes and thereby yield richer insights into biodiversity and ecosystem health. However, there is a need for standardised, repeatable methods to comparatively evaluate these technologies. We developed a platform to this end, consisting of a 25-channel spherical loudspeaker array through which spatial natural soundscapes captured with a 19-capsule microphone (Zylia ZM-1) can be accurately reproduced and repeatedly re-recorded by spatial PAM devices under evaluation. Here, we first explore how well this lab-based platform can reproduce spatial natural soundscapes, and then present results from a trial of using the platform to evaluate a 6-microphone PAM device developed in our lab. We achieve this by comparing a range of typical ecoacoustic analyses between the field- and lab-based recordings. Further, we specifically use the platform to investigate how device orientation impacts the classification and localisation of avian calls with the software tools BirdNET and HARKBird, respectively. These initial outcomes suggest our test platform can provide key insights into the tuning and performance of spatial PAM devices and ecological analyses of their data. We aim for this platform and approach to be further validated and adopted, to inform the selection of spatial PAM technologies and ease collaboration between their users globally.
Date Issued
2023-09-11
Date Acceptance
2023-09-01
Citation
Proceedings of Forum Acusticum, 2023, pp.4671-4674
ISBN
978-88-88942-67-4
ISSN
2221-3767
Publisher
European Acoustics Association (EAA)
Start Page
4671
End Page
4674
Journal / Book Title
Proceedings of Forum Acusticum
Copyright Statement
©2023 Le Penru et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
License URL
Source
10th Convention of the European Acoustics Association Forum Acusticum 2023
Publication Status
Published
Start Date
2023-09-11
Finish Date
2023-09-15
Coverage Spatial
Torino, Italy