Audio Noise Level Monitoring

It gets loud inside our house. This is partly due to the hardwood floors, but mostly because of two kids running around, playing, and laughing. I was curious about how loud it actually gets, so I built this project to find out.

The noise monitor consists of two main scripts: the logger and the dashboard.

The Logger Script

The logger script is responsible for capturing and recording noise levels in real time. It utilizes the built-in microphone on my MacBook Air to measure ambient noise and processes it using Python.

Key Features:

• Records microphone input continuously.
• Computes a rolling one-second average decibel level.
• Converts raw audio data into decibel readings.
• Logs noise data into a CSV file for analysis.
• Includes a graceful exit that displays session statistics:

• Loudest Noise Recorded: The maximum decibel level detected.
• Average Noise Level: The mean decibel reading over the session.
• Standard Deviation: The variation in noise levels over time.

The Dashboard

The dashboard provides a real-time visualization of the noise levels. It is built using Dash, a Python framework for data visualization.

Features of the Dashboard:

• Displays real-time data from the CSV file.
• Uses a color-coded volume indicator:

• Green (Safe): Below 40 dB
• Yellow (Moderate): 40 - 60 dB
• Red (Too Loud!): 80 dB and above

• Updates dynamically as new noise data is logged.

How It Works

Both scripts run in separate terminal windows. The logger continuously records noise levels and appends them to a CSV file, while the dashboard reads and visualizes this data in real time. The dashboard can be accessed in a web browser for monitoring.

Next Steps

Possible enhancements for the project include:

• Adding historical trend analysis for noise levels over time.
• Setting up alerts when noise exceeds a certain threshold.
• Deploying the system on a Raspberry Pi for 24/7 monitoring.

Stay tuned for updates as I continue improving the noise monitoring system!