MDEF: Measuring the world / A world in data activity report.
We Only Want
Albert, Anthuanet, Nicolo, Flora and Manuja
Journal Index
objectives
-> hypothesis
Brainstorming process
Objective: We want to hear the sea waves in the city.
Questions:
If noise pollution in Barcelona is reduced sufficiently to allow the sound of sea waves to be audible from a distance of 300+ meters from the beach, it can improve the quality of life of the citizens and improve biodiversity.
Reducing Barcelona city noise enables audible beach waves, benefiting well-being and biodiversity.
In order to collect this data properly, it is important to choose the correct tool. We required a tool that can sense noise and distance.
We wanted to ensure that we were able to measure the distance of the waves from land and how loud or softer the sound of the waves can get.
We also wanted to gather data from natural sources like using our ears and walking to check the data gathered.
Lastly, we wanted to find out if living by the sea is a privilege, how it affects mental well being of humans and how it improves biodiveristy. We also wanted to see if living by the sea or the ocean can also be percieved as a currency.
hypothesis
-> data
We chose the smart citizen kit as it allowed us to use the GPS tracker, the microphone and the noise decibel sensor. It was the perfect tool to measure the distance between the waves and land, and to measure the decible of the sound of the waves and how loud it can get.
There are multiple open source tools that helped us with the smart citizen kit:
We planned to go to the nearby beach at Poblenou. We started measuring data by first placing the microphone and the smart citizen kit at the distance of 400 meters from the beach, then 300, then 200, then 100 and then finally at a stone right next to the beach.
We measured the sound levels from all distances to check if the waves were audible and how the noise of the city can affect these sounds.
We then inserted the SD card into our laptop to check the data and after multiple technical difficulties, we were finally able to see the data.
Smart citzen kit
Microphone device
Measurement of Urban Noise Pollution:
Describe the raw data you collected by posting a sample i.e. a picture, a screen capture, etc.
We expereinced a lot of difficulties with the kit and making sure it was gathering data and information correctly, make sure the SD card is inserted at all times, ensure the kit is working and do tests before hand to avoid wasting time.
data
-> information
A hypothesis may be testable, but even that isn’t enough for it to be a scientific hypothesis. In addition, it must be possible to show that the hypothesis is false if it really is false. Proving it's true it will require testing all possible combinations, that's hard, maybe impossible.
Post at least two images of a chart, a screenshot of your data, that you used to prove if your hypothesis is false.
We concluded that the city noises are much louder than the natural noises of the beach. We were only able to hear the beach from a 100 meters away and it was mixed with traffic sounds.
Using the sensor also helped us in realising that it requires a lot of patience and experimenting.
The data we gathered also was an enlightening expereince to realise that it would be much nicer to hear natural noises more than the noises on
The first mistake we encountered was that the sensors did not work, even after a few reboots, the kit was not working. We realised it was an error and had to continue our process on the second day.