I’ve been intending to write a post overviewing my PhD for a while now. I started in December 2010, and am currently writing a progress report on what I’ve done so far. Rather than putting off posting something further, I thought I’d show you this talk by Tim Berners-Lee describing the Semantic Web:
I’m not working on linking data up on the internet, as cool as that is. I’m working at the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research & Education, and am applying what Tim talks about above to the railway industry. The idea is that by using the technology that’s being developed for the semantic web, it will be possible to bring the same sort of advantages (in terms of interoperability) to all the computer systems at work running the rail network in the UK. That means everyone that works with trains gets more knowledge, and more knowledge = no more late trains.
Since September, my Birmingham band ‘Route 49′ have had a new line-up and style. We’re still a pop covers band, but have been trying to edge towards the more modern end of things, rather than ending up with an identical set list to all the other ‘soul/motown’ covers bands. We’ve been gigging for a while now, and came out of the studio a few weeks ago with a rather impressive sounding demo (if I do say so myself):
Credit goes to Nobby Clarke at the Oxygen Rooms, Hockley, for letting us use his studio and making it sound great. I also got the chance to play a real Höhner Clavinet D6, which was cool.
Me with Nobby's Höhner D6
Hopefully we’ll have a lot of gigs coming up over the summer – I took the band (with some notable personnel changes) to Club Med Val Thorens at Christmas, where we had a great time, and with any luck we’ll be back at another resort later on in the year…
Seeing as I posted the interim report for my final year project here (in March last year), I think it’s probably worthwhile me talking about the final results. Whilst I won’t be posting the complete code listing for my plug-in yet, I presented a poster at an IET event last year giving an overview, a copy of which is below:
IET Presentation Poster - Ambisonic Surround
If that sounds useful, email me and I’ll be happy to chat a bit more about it – I have a riveting 120 page report that I’ll be glad to let people read on demand (!). Admittedly it’s been a while ago now, and I’m not currently developing it any further, but I’m still proud of what I managed to produce over those 9 months and may well re-visit my work if anyone expresses an interest!
By the time I submitted the project, I had achieved more than what I set out to initially. The software developed (a large part of the project) was a VST plug-in that synthesised periphonic room acoustics (reverb) based on a number of input parameters (room dimensions, surface material, source/listener position) and a number of system parameters. Basically, a clever type of echo generator for music producers and broadcasters. It had pretty convincing results, although I was constrained a little by the size and simplicity of the speaker array I was using to test it.
Physical modelling algorithms like the ones I used to create my reverb need a compromise between computation power and accuracy; passable results can be achieved using relatively small amounts of processing, but really convincing results need a bit more CPU power. I also developed some ambisonic decoding hardware, but it was a very basic design and wasn’t quite so interesting (read a bit here).
Ambisonics is a really interesting concept – a surround sound technology developed in the ’70s but apparently killed off by bad marketing and bad luck. Hopefully, with the benefit of cheap, powerful modern computers, it’ll resurface a bit more. There’s a blog here, for instance, where the BBC talk about using it for archiving surround sound broadcasts.
It seems like the summer’s come (and gone?) very rapidly this year! So, without too much thought here’s what’s been happening:
After an intense few months of project-writing, presenting, and revising, I’ve finally (after five years) finished University with a first class MEng honours degree in Electronic & Computer Engineering. It’s been an incredible experience and I couldn’t be happier with what I’ve achieved, the people I’ve met, and what I’ve seen/done.
Myself and a few others have been collared into doing some research into Rail anti-ice techniques for use on UK train lines next winter. Whilst not the most glamourous job in the world, the past 8 weeks have been extremely interesting and it looks like we’ve actually made a lot of progress. There’s a chance we’ll be part of one or many Network Rail / BBC / press things over the next month or so, which I’ll post up here in due course. I’ve spent the majority of the time at -10°C dealing with this monster test rig:
Although not bogged down in gigs this summer, I’ve played some fairly memorable ones. Route 49 played their final gig (for now…), I was invited to play in the Top Cat Big Band (with some very friendly Bristolians), and was booked few hectic small group functions – witnessing an incredible improvised rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Fun!
I’ve also been lucky to have been on some incredible trips & holidays. First off was New York City, as part of a tour depping on trumpet with OUJO. Having already been once, it was fantastic to go back and play some gigs! We managed to meet up with a few people whilst out there, including Yoni, Chris, and Ill Spokinn of Spokinn Movement fame (who are back in the UK touring in November). Apart from that, we managed to see some jazz (John Escreet & Dave Binney being favourites…), do all the usual tourist things, and swim in a 2nd floor pool at the hotel…
Second off was North Sea Jazz festival. I could write about the gigs, free beer (shh), or 6AM jam sessions, but this picture (by Emily) sums it up – Earth Wind & Fire!
Then (as a more relaxing break) Laura and I trekked up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for the last time. Our friends at LCubed produced Jason Robert Brown’s “The Last Five Years” and we stayed with them for three days. Not only was that show really enjoyable, but the other eight shows we saw over the weekend far surpassed my expectations. Definitely back next year!
Finally, I’m off to Club Med Mauritius playing piano/synth with “Les Rosbif” in a couple of weeks. More on that to come!
I’m busy at the moment. There are ten days between me and the end of a five year education at the University of Birmingham and they’re some of my busiest yet! That said, this video interested me:
I’ve not updated this site/blog/dumping ground for a while now, partly because I’ve not got much to say, and partly because my life’s been taken over by something far more serious than posting pretty pictures on the internet…
My fourth year MEng project (as an electronic engineering student) involves the use of spacialisation techniques in ambisonic surround sound systems – I’m essentially building a 3D reverb plugin with a few bells & whistles. My practical assessment takes place in two weeks time, but if what I’ve said sounds interesting to you feel free to try and make sense of the report I produced a couple of months ago:
Then (as a more relaxing break) Laura and I trekked up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for the last time. Our friends at 