Algoritmically improved microwave radar monitors breathing more acurrate than sensorized belt.

This paper describes a novel way to measure, process, analyze, and compare respiratory signals acquired by two types of devices: a wearable sensorized belt and a microwave radar-based sensor. Both devices provide breathing rate readouts. First, the background research is presented. Then, the underlying principles and working parameters of the microwave radar-based sensor, a contactless device for monitoring breathing, are described. The breathing rate measurement protocol is then presented, and the proposed algorithm for octave error elimination is introduced. Details are provided about the data processing phase; specifically, the management of signals acquired from two devices with different working principles and how they are resampled with a common processing sample rate. This is followed by an analysis of respiratory signals experimentally acquired by the belt and microwave radar-based sensors. The analysis outcomes were checked using Levene's test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and Dunn's post hoc test. The findings show that the proposed assessment method is statistically stable. The source of variability lies in the person-triggered breathing patterns rather than the working principles of the devices used. Finally, conclusions are derived, and future work is outlined.

Creating a Remote Choir Performance Recording Based on an Ambisonic Approach

The aim of this paper is three-fold. First, the basics of binaural and ambisonic techniques are briefly presented. Then, details related to audio-visual recordings of a remote performance of the Academic Choir of the Gdansk University of Technology are shown. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, artists had a choice, namely, to stay at home and not perform or stay at home and perform. In fact, staying at home brought in the possibility of creating and developing art at home while working online. During the first months of lock-down, the audience was satisfied with music performances that were fairly far from the typical experience of a real concert hall. Then, more advanced technology was brought to facilitate joint rehearsal and performance of better quality, including multichannel sound and spatialization. At the same time, spatial music productions benefited from the disadvantage of remote rehearsal by creating immersive experiences for the audience based on ambisonic and binaural techniques. Finally, subjective tests were prepared and performed to observe performers' attention behavior divided between the conductor and music notation in the network-like environment. To this end, eye-tracking technology was employed. This aspect is related to the quality of experience (QoE), which in the performance area–and especially in remote mode–is essential.