Healynx: Negative effects of noise on human beings in busy cities and how their effects can be countered

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to use the tools and methods used when developing a product to develop a noise cancellation device that can be used in multiple scenarios by the user to reduce the incoming sound from the surrounding. The project focuses on the main target group which are the patients that are living in general wards in the hospitals as loud and annoying noises can be a cause of mental stress to the patients. By introducing an installation in the wards, we can reduce the effects of noise on the patients and create a better experience for the patients. The installation shall blend in with the current hospital equipment and also enhance the atmosphere of its environment. Therefore, the problems which were undertaken through this project include discovering how the loud and aggravating sounds are produced in our surrounding and how can we counter its effects. The methods used through this process included examining all aspects of the problems being tackled, examining the levels of noise produced, conducting surveys of both the common people and the doctors working in hospitals, and observing other current products which would fulfill the problems set out in similar ways. A big chunk of information was gathered through existing research done by various researchers both national and international. Solutions to the problem were modeled in various ways by taking different inspirations from nature. The final product resulted in a design that uses shapes inspired from the body of a bat to create a shape to gather and emit sound frequencies and the body of moths to scatter the sound.