Towards Soundscape Information Retrieval (SIR)

In this paper we discuss our efforts in Soundscape Information Retrieval (SIR). Computational soundscape analysis is a key research component in the Citygram Project which is built on a cyber-physical system that includes a scalable robust sensor network, remote sensing devices (RSD), spatio-acoustic visualization formats, as well as software tools for composition and sonification. By combining our research in soundscape studies, which includes the capture, collection, analysis, visualization and musical applications of spatio-temporal sound, we discuss our current research efforts that aim to contribute towards the development of soundscape information retrieval (SIR). This includes discussion of soundscape descriptors, soundscape taxonomy, annotation, and data analytics. In particular, we discuss one of our focal research agendas in measuring and quantifying urban noise pollution.