2019 Student Challenge Problem
The Acoustical Society of America Technical Committee on Signal Processing in Acoustics (TCSP) is sponsoring the 2019 International Student Challenge Problem in Acoustic Signal Processing. This problem presents a real-world signal processing challenge encountered in the field of acoustics. It is intended to be tackled by students with a basic understanding of signal processing. A unique solution to the Student Challenge Problem is not expected. Students are encouraged to explore various approaches. Submissions will be judged on clarity, creativity, rigor, and insight. The competition is open to both undergraduate and graduate students.
Problem Description
The problem and solution requirements are described in the Spring 2019 issue of Acoustics Today (vol 15, issue 1). A copy of the article can be found at the following link. Data files referred to the article are also available for download from this link.
Entry Requirements and Deadline Dates
The solution should detail your approach and reasoning to solve the problem, as well as your best estimates of the above parameters.
Send your solutions to asa@acousticalsociety.org by 30 September 2019 with the subject line “Student Challenge Problem 2019 Entry.” Submissions should be electronic and in MS Word or PDF format.
Entries must include the entrant’s name, preferred postal mailing address, e-mail address and mobile phone number, and be accompanied by proof of the entrant’s status as a university student, e.g., current student ID card or letter from the university confirming student status. Entries can be submitted by a group, in which case proof of student status and contact information must be submitted for all members of the group. Entrants need not be members of the ASA. Winners will be selected by a panel appointed by the Chair of the Technical Committee on Signal Processing in Acoustics.
Entrants will be notified by of the competition results by 1 November 2019. Attendance at the ASA fall 2019 meeting is not required to participate.
Finalists and prize winners (monetary prizes: first place $500; second $300; third $200) will be announced at the 178th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in San Diego, CA, from November 30 to December 4, 2019.
By entering this competition you are granting ASA the right to post your answer on any of its web sites including, but not limited to, AcousticalSociety.org and AcousticsToday.org.
PRIOR CHALLENGES
2014 Student Challenge Problem
Background. A truck with a 4-stroke diesel engine travels along a straight road with constant speed. Near the road is a microphone that senses the radiated acoustic noise from the truck during its passage past the microphone. The output of the microphone is sampled at the rate of 12,000 samples/second and 30 seconds of data are recorded during the truck’s transit which can be found in the attached file: truck.wav. During the recording of the data, the speed of sound propagation in air was a constant 347 m/s.
Problem: Assuming that the truck is a point source,
- Plot the spectrogram of the acoustic data file truck30sec.wav
- Given that the strongest spectral line is the engine firing rate, calculate the truck’s
(1) engine firing rate (in Hz),
(2) cylinder firing rate (in Hz),
(3) number of cylinders,
(4) tachometer reading (in revolutions/minute),
(5) speedometer reading (speed in km/hour),
(6) distance (in meters) of the closest point of approach of the truck to the sensor,
(7) time (in seconds) at which the closest point of approach occurs.
Right click here to download the file.
Your solution should detail your approach and reasoning to solve the problem, as well as your best estimates of the above parameters.
Send your solutions (with your contact details) to asa@acousticalsociety.org by July 31, 2014 with the subject line “Student Challenge Problem Entry.”
Cash awards of $500 and $250 will be awarded to the first and second place winners, respectively. Winners are invited to prepare and present a poster no larger than 4’ x 8’ at the 168th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Indianapolis, Indiana, 27-31, October 2014. A travel subsidy will be available if needed.
Entrants need not be members of the ASA. All entries must be accompanied by proof of the entrant’s
status as a university student.
More details about the Student Challenge will be discussed in the summer 2014 issue of Acoustics Today which will be on line about June 16, 2014.
By entering this competition you are granting ASA the right to post your answer on any of its web sites including, but not limited to, AcousticalSociety.org and AcousticsToday.org.