Acoustics in catering establishments
Simple measurement of the acoustic quality of catering establishments
Type of project: Exploratory Research
Disability concerned: Hearing disability
Topics: Digital accessibility, Autonomy, Buildings and installations, Participation in cultural life, sports and leisure activities, Services and communication
Status: In progress
The aim of this exploratory research is to draw up an inventory (analysis of the current situation) and to evaluate objective measurement methods for recording the acoustic quality of buildings.
Lack of information about the accessibility of buildings is a barrier to people with a range of disabilities. To be able to plan a trip, a medical consultation or a restaurant outing with friends independently, they need objective, standardised information on the accessibility of buildings.
The Sitios association is developing and managing a digital platform for collecting and publishing this information in a structured way. Three methods are available for collecting the data: Building owners can enter the information themselves or have it entered by trained staff. Like Wikipedia, entries can also be made by the community.
Thanks to export interfaces (APIs), the information is made available free of charge to interested individuals and businesses as “open data”. This enables search and booking platforms and other application developers to make their offerings more attractive and inclusive.
Until now, Sitios has focused heavily on the target group of people with mobility impairments. The platform is now to be developed for people with a hearing disability.
Based on initial discussions with ProCap and the people concerned, the acoustics of public buildings are to be taken into account as an additional accessibility criterion.
This plays a key role for people with a hearing disability. Until now, there has been no corresponding offer for the people concerned, so assessment is individual and subjective.
The aim of this exploratory research is to establish an inventory (analysis of the current situation) and to evaluate objective measurement methods for recording the acoustic quality of buildings. In addition, a correlation between subjective perception and objective measurement is to be investigated.
The results of the study will serve as a basis for the technical integration of the best measurement techniques into the existing application.
