MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL — The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) has earned a U.S. patent for new sound imaging classification technology developed to support the noise program at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (KMSP).
MAC also operates six general aviation airports.
Using machine learning, the Airport Noise Classification Method and System identifies sounds captured via nearly 40 sound-monitoring devices located around KMSP and under common flight paths. The program classifies which sound events are aircraft, filtering out other noises common in an urban environment such as motor vehicles, lawnmowers, fireworks, or weather events, according to MAC officials.
The backbone of the newly patented classification system is existing technology that converts an audio file of a sound event into a picture. For instance, the sound image of Boeing 737 will have a very different image compared to a neighborhood tornado siren, MAC officials explained.
The system then relies on a convolutional neural network — which is trained to conduct image recognition — to learn from an archive of known aircraft sound images and classify future data as aircraft or non-aircraft events.
“The technology helps solve a key question in the noise monitoring arena: ‘We have a sound, do we have an airplane?’” said Brad Juffer, the assistant director of terminal operations for the MAC and a co-inventor of the project. “No human or staff can efficiently decipher the thousands of inbound sound events that come through our system daily. With this classification system, we gain more reliable data to better understand overall trends impacting our airport neighbors.”
“It’s exceptional for airport operators to develop new inventions, so the U.S. patent is quite an accomplishment,” said Evan Wilson, deputy general counsel for the MAC, who led the team through a four-year patent process. “The technology will continue to be an important asset for MSP’s community relations efforts as the MAC also determines how the application could assist the broader airport industry.”
The MAC is currently in the process of registering the patent in Canada.
The Airport Noise Classification Method and System patent credits four inventors, including the MAC’s Brad Juffer and Matt Baker, a GIS solution architect. They collaborated on the project with Derek Anderson, a former acoustics and data analysis coordinator for the MAC, and consultant Nicholas Heller, a University of Minnesota doctoral candidate in computer science and engineering.
I have two thoughts, first being that this is an innovative approach to understanding noise. Second is that maybe we shouldn’t exclude all those other noisy things in life like sirens, other vehicles, etc. that airport neighbors so often seem to forget.
Just another way to curtail aviation, the supply of goods and services.
Marxism will love your way to keep the public on their knees
Unleaded fuel, mufflers, catalytic converters what’s next?