SORAMA CELEBRATES TEN YEARS OF IMPROVEMENT IN SOUND DESIGN AND IS NOW READY FOR SCALING UP

Posted by Erika van der Merwe on February 13, 2019.

Misschien was het maar goed dat Rick Scholte jaren geleden, op de eerste dag van zijn stage voor zijn masteropleiding, de instructies die hij kreeg gewoon links liet liggen. Hij had een laboratorium toegewezen gekregen dat consumentenproducten screende op geluid en zijn officiële taak was het om actieve geluiddempende technologie toe te passen om een robot wat stiller te krijgen. In plaats daarvan negeerde hij de robot en besteedde hij een week lang aan het herontwerpen van de code die de geluiden screent – een methgode die gebaseerd was op akoestische holografie. Zijn begeleider raakte geïntrigeerd en Scholte kon de rest van zijn masteronderzoek – en later ook zijn promotieonderzoek – aan hoge-resolutie "geluidsbeeld" wijden. De rest is geschiedenis, zoals ze zeggen: met zijn team heeft hij zojuist het tienjarig bestaan gevierd van Sorama, de startup die de technologie en diensten biedt om het geluidsontwerp te verbeteren, geluidsoverlast te verminderen en daardoor betere levensomstandigheden te creëren.

CLEAR VISION
Speaking in the meeting room of Sorama's new glass office spaces at Strijp-T, Scholte says that the relocation literally marks a new season for his company. "Over the past ten years, we have been very close to our customers, to develop our understanding, to showcase our analytical way of working. We are now in a scaling phase and we have a clear vision of how we want to run the company."

Sorama's pay-off line is "Make sound insightful" - make sound understandable. The team achieves this using sound cameras to visualize, locate, and classify sounds. "The type of images we get from this is similar to what you get from a thermal imaging camera, where you can, for example, see energy leaking from your house. We can do the same with sound, to see where sound is leaking, or to see where vibrations intersect a wall, or to determine if parts of a product vibrate too much. Based on that information, we can gain insight and understanding not only of where, but also how we can improve the sound."

The basis of array technology, the use of multiple microphones or sensors simultaneously to locate sounds, was developed in the 1940s and was first used in the military to detect submarines. "In that sense, it is not unique or new," says Scholte. "What makes us unique are the powerful algorithms and technology we have developed. Although there are competitors who use microphone arrays, we are the only ones who can work at this level of detail - with this acoustic resolution."

DEMOCRATIZING TECHNOLOGY

The other unique aspect of Sorama's service is that it makes its technology available at low costs. "We are democratizing the technology. Any engineering or consulting firm or engineering department is able to learn and use it."

One of the highlights mentioned by Scholte is a project for Remeha Central Heating Systems; a few weeks before the production of a new model started, they were able to make it eight decibels quieter. "That central heating system is in many households and is much quieter than before we worked on it. This is an example of the significant impact we can have on people. That is what motivates us here."

Rick Scholte

De technologie van Sorama wordt toegepast op kleine geluiden in kleine ruimtes, maar ook op grotere geluiden in grotere ruimtes – het laatste in het geval van smart city-oplossingen. In open stedelijke ruimten, inclusief bebouwde stedelijke gebieden en drukke kruispunten, kunnen geluidscamera's worden gebruikt om inzichten te verzamelen en problemen op te lossen. "We kunnen microfoons gebruiken voor beveiliging, verkeersveiligheid, het herkennen van een verkeersongeval, het detecteren of er te veel lawaai van een locatie komt, of het identificeren van agressie in een openbare ruimte. In plaats van alleen maar te controleren of er een probleem is, kunnen we laten zien waar het probleem ontstaat en kunnen we helpen bij het organiseren om het aantal gevallen te verminderen." Deze toepassing wordt geïntegreerd met andere smart city-toepassingen, in Europa en Azië, zonder inbreuk te maken op de privacy: "Het systeem kan op zichzelf functioneren, zonder menselijke controle en zonder opnames te maken."

TO REMAIN ON THE EDGE OF POSSIBILITIES
In addition to its smart city applications and maintenance and predictive solutions for customers, Sorama offers consulting services that keep it actively engaged in the field of R&D. "This aspect of our work is truly a niche market and keeps you on the cutting edge of possibilities. We have set up new promotional research with the Eindhoven University of Technology and we collaborate with Stanford University; this allows us to try out interesting things that we can then use in our own applications. This is a nice balance in our work portfolio."

Scholte says that Sorama currently has five job vacancies and will likely have ten new employees by the end of 2019, bringing the total to thirty people. However, he does not have the ambition to grow just for the sake of growth. "But we see the applications we are filling and the markets we are working in, which is why we have to grow."

BUILDING FOR THE LONG TERM
He sees little value in constructing long-term strategies for the company, as he believes that the rapid pace of technological advancement demands flexibility. "Our environment and technology are moving so quickly and changing so rapidly that it's not really healthy for a company to look more than three years ahead. You have to remain agile based on what you see happening."

For himself, Scholte does have a clear long-term vision. He describes himself as a builder who, in thirty years, would still prefer to do what he is doing now. "My drive is to have an impact. And if it is possible to have an influence on one thing throughout your entire life - why not?"

Photos © Sorama

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