Detroit, Michigan. April 24, 2007. SenSound, LLC announced today that its application for a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to address the technical issues of the acoustic characteristics of a jet plume resulting from a high performance jet engine has been approved for funding by the United States Air Force. The nine-month grant for $100,000 will allow SenSound to conduct feasibility studies and work on development  of a robust, portable and accurate acoustical holography tool to acquire the acoustics characteristics of an acoustic field produced by a full-scale jet engine.   The technology would be targeted at the U.S. Military and the commercial airline industry.

 

According to Dr. Sean Wu, distinguished professor of Mechanical Engineering at WSU’s College of Engineering and Vice President for Technology at SenSound, “Users of this tool will be provided an in-depth understanding of jet noise that cannot be obtained by conventional measurements and analysis technologies. The end result will be insight and knowledge that will enable manufacturers to devise more cost-effective ways to reduce jet noise.” 

 

The project will examine the feasibility of commercializing the patented technology, Helmholtz Equation Least Square (HELS) based Nearfield Acoustical Holography INAH), to visualize acoustic characteristics of jet plumes from high performance military fighter engines and those from bypass commercial transport engines. The objective of the study is to facilitate development of a technology that will allow engineers to correlate jet noise to a jet stream.

 

 “We are very excited that the US Air Force shares our enthusiasm for the potential of this technology in the aircraft industry,” said Sergio Mazza, SenSound president and CEO. “It will result in a way to cost-effectively perform noise diagnostics on jet engine plumes, leading to benefits to the military, passengers and the general public,” he added.

 

“This grant and the impressive work of SenSound and Sean Wu is a great example of Wayne State faculty putting their innovations to work,” said Dr. Gloria Heppner, interim vice president for Research at Wayne State. “Discoveries stemming from university research make an impact on our economy and our lives, and Mr. Mazza and members of SenSound are working hard to make a difference in our world.”

 

SenSound, LLC is a privately held company based in Detroit, Michigan at TechTown.  SenSound’s award winning proprietary technology creates three-dimensional digital images of sound as it travels through space and time. SenSound software is unique in its ability to quickly, accurately and cost effectively map sound sources on arbitrary three-dimensional surfaces.  The result is faster, more cost effective noise diagnosis, product development and quality control testing.  The technology has broad applications in product design, development and manufacturing where noise needs to be identified, understood and eliminated, or where manufacturing and component defects need to be identified.  To learn more about SenSound, visit http://www.sensound.com.

 

Wayne State University is one of the nation’s pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting.  Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and beyond.  To learn more about Wayne State, visit http://www.wayne.edu.





SenSound, LLC Contact: Sergio Mazza
Voice: 313-882-1065
Email: sergio.mazza@sensound.com  
Web: http://www..sensound.com