| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/C00857X/1 |
| Title: |
Non-Contact Surface Scanning Systems for the Retrieval and Protection of Archived Sound Recordings. |
| Principal Investigator: |
McBride, Professor J |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Faculty of Engineering & the Environment |
| Organisation: |
University of Southampton |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
14 March 2005 |
Ends: |
13 March 2009 |
Value (£): |
523,659
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Instrumentation Eng. & Dev. |
Surfaces & Interfaces |
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| Panel History: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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The aim of the proposed research is to investigate methods for the non-contact scanning of archived sound recordings such that the sound contained can be presented in a digital format. The sound archive can be developed to create an internet accessible resource. The proposal is timely and critical, since at present many sound carriers are archivally unstable and at risk of deterioration. This proposal will focus on the very earliest recordings including cylinders and coarse-groove discs. The extent of the problem is huge. In the UK at the British Library Sound Archive there are around 235,000 shellac and 16,000 'acetate' discs along with 8,000 cylinders of which circa 4,000 are particularly vulnerable brown wax. Conservators at the British Library Sound Archive and the Smithsonian (USA) are being forced to classify the recordings in their archives according to how rapidly they are fading. Cylinder recordings made a century ago on Alexander Graham Bell's Gramophone or Thomas Edison's Phonograph come top of the risk list. The cylinders consist of a cylindrical core covered with a coating of wax that is soft enough to survive the recording stylus but damaged by playing. The key aspects of this project are in the investigation of surface sensing technology and in the development of new data processing methods.The main focus of the proposed research is on the investigation of non-contact surface scanning sensing technology. There are a number of sensor types available and these will initially be tested on known samples. New methods will be investigated for the measurement of surfaces, these will include investigations of signal processing methods in the application using the con-focal white light sensing method. The investigation has the 3 main aims of improving sensing speeds, increasing angular tolerances and improving the ability to detect near vertical surfaces, (edge detection). The research will be a collaboration between the University of Southampton, Point Source Ltd, TaiCaan Technologies Ltd, and the British Library Sound Archive. It will also run in close collaboration with a USA based project at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Library of Congress. Staff at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBNL) have worked in close collaboration over the initial stages of the research.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
http://www.sesnet.soton.ac.uk/archivesound/ |
| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.soton.ac.uk |