Mechanized acoustic panels for variable reverb control

Reverberation poses a challenge for speech processing systems and is unavoidable in real environments. As such, acoustic signal processing researchers are interested in robust algorithms that can perform well regardless of reverb severity. Measuring reverberant speech requires access to rooms with the desired dimensions, which may not be readily available. Furthermore, for heavily instrumented recording setups such as our Mechatronic Acoustic Research System (MARS), moving equipment between locations is not practical. We propose a system of actuated multi-textured panels which can significantly alter the reverb properties of a static room. By changing the angle of these panels, we can smoothly transition from high to low reverberation times. We show this empirically and develop a system that provides a requested reverb level automatically, once configured for a fixed size installation. This tool can allow researchers to use a single room to take measurements applicable to a more diverse range of environments. We integrate our system into the MARS project, an automated tool for generating spatial audio datasets.