Official media partner
Modeling and Measurement
Digital Twins for Architecting & Designing Audio Devices
September 22, 2021
9:00 AM Pacific (12:00 PM Eastern)
Overview
The AES Audio Product Education Institute (APEI) presents a new webinar series on the practice and benefits of simulation-driven audio architecture design by use of Digital Twins. In a new series of Modeling and Measurement online events, experts from COMSOL, JJR Acoustic and Facebook, will discuss the role of Digital Twins and how advanced experimental transducer identification can be used to influence fundamental design considerations, even before the first prototype is built to proof a concept.
In audio product development, computer modeling and simulations are often used to troubleshoot and optimize acoustic performance once fundamental design assumptions have been defined. And yet, the largest gains in audio performance are consolidated in the very early architectural design phase, where the form factor, transducer choice, and placement dictates the overall acoustic product performance. What if “high fidelity” Digital Twins and advanced experimental transducer identification was used to influence the form factor, transducer type and tuning decisions even before the first prototype is built to proof a concept?
This webinar series focuses on how experimental transducer and virtual simulation-driven audio architecture explorations can work alongside, impacting the very early product development cross-functional discussions with PM (Program Management), PD (Product Development) and ID (Industrial Design). With expert contributions from JJR Acoustics and Facebook, the webinar series will share methods and experiences on how to meet PMs desired audio user experience, PDs manufacturing strategy/story, and IDs aesthetics and function.
The webinar series will provide an overview of how measurement and Digital Twins can front-load and address optimal acoustic insights to influence audio product architecture in the critical first 2-4 months of a project. The first webinar will offer an introduction to fundamental aspects, and will expand over additional events, featuring presentations and case studies. The presentations will also explore the corresponding strategies to inform and qualify the first physical prototype made for proof of concept, and validate a commitment to investment on a product idea.
Next Sessions
October 27 – Modeling and Measurement
Digital Twins for Architecting & Designing Audio Devices – Session 2
November 17 – Modeling and Measurement
Digital Twins for Architecting & Designing Audio Devices – Session 3
From Troubleshooter to Virtual Acoustic Architect/Designer
Together, we will look at questions such as how and why very early experimental and virtual acoustic insight coexist, and how they can change or modify an audio product’s form factor, cost, transducer type/placement, and performance, considering both acoustics and reliability. We will also explore how this can help determine cross-functional collaborative decision-making. As an example, where the acoustic transducer team works closely with the audio tuning/DSP team to enable at times highly compromising design constraints.
The webinar series will discuss organizational methods and resources that are available for learning the how-to’s, anticipating the challenges to establish this front-loaded architectural process in mature or new companies. How to adjust practices. How to seek senior management support. What it takes to change/enhance a well-known development process where cross-functional partners are encountering a data driven, early “Digital Twin push back”. How to handle opportunities from an audio team eager to establish dialog and arrive at the best architectural starting point for audio design and optimization. In other words, how to change an organizations behavior from a typical reactive, problem-solving mode, to a simulation-driven front-loading architecture, benefiting from very early insights from Digital Twins. How to establish high fidelity digital twins of transducers and systems. And how simulation engineers can leverage cross-functional discovery/incubation stages to expand their sphere of influence – from troubleshooters and optimizers to become architectural design leads.
Ulrik Skov
Audio Transducer, System & Material Architectural Lead. FRL (Facebook Reality Labs) San Francisco, CA, USA
Since 2018 Ulrik Skov heads-up FRL’s Acoustic Render/Speaker Group. He is an acoustic industry veteran with +25 years of experience from hearing instruments (Oticon), transducer development (Tymphany – ScanSpeak, Vifa and Peerless) and consumer product acoustic module design (Apple – HomePod, AirPods, iPad and iPhone).
Facebook’s Acoustic Render Group is an integrated part of the Technology Engineering Devices (TED) Audio team. The group architects, designs and optimizes acoustic transducers, modules, materials and systems. The Acoustic Render Group heavily front-loads and democratizes decision making by simulation driven working methods and processes via high-fidelity DigitalTwins used throughout the development from early discovery/incubation to late design tweaks and troubleshooting.
This performance focused approach is centered around COMSOLs multiphysics linear and nonlinear capability within the areas of vibroacoustics, thermalacoustics, visco-/hyper-elastics and electromagnetics. Aggressive computational loads are handled by an internally build High Performance Compute Platform where individual engineers have on-the-fly access to queueless and unlimited virtual clusters to collapse mainly 3D multiphysics compute burdens and timelines.
Mads Herring Jensen
Technology Manager, Acoustics, COMSOL
Copenhagen, Denmark
Mads Herring Jensen joined COMSOL in 2011 and is the technology manager for the acoustics products. Mads has a PhD in computational fluid dynamics from the Technical University of Denmark. Before joining COMSOL, he worked in the hearing aid industry for five years as an acoustic finite element expert.
Scott Leslie
PD Squared - Irvine, CA,
USA
Scott Leslie is the Audio Engineering Society (AES) Product Development Chair, and Audio Product Education Institute (APEI) Managing Director. He is chief architect and strategist at PD Squared, a consultancy business focused on improving and redefining product development for the audio industry. PD Squared stands for “Process Development of Product Development Organizations”. Scott’s career includes multiple sales, engineering and product management positions with companies such as Altec Lansing, JBL Professional (Harman), Renkus-Heinz, Tektronix, or Sun Microsystems. In 2011, Scott founded Evidant Corporation, a company specializing in Process Analytics and Business Intelligence that he now also leads as Chief Architect. Scott holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, a Masters (MSEE) in Audio and Acoustics from Georgia Institute of Technology, and an MBA in Operations Research and Statistics, from the University of California, Irvine – The Paul Merage School of Business.