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Analyzing Real-Time Audio with the Soundscape Widget

November 21, 2025

Analyzing Real-Time Audio with the Soundscape Widget

Unlocking the World of Sound with the Soundscape Widget

In IoT, data comes in many forms. One of the most information-rich sources is audio. From monitoring industrial machinery for predictive maintenance to analyzing environmental noise, understanding the soundscape provides invaluable insights. Our Soundscape Widget is a powerful tool designed to demystify audio data, transforming it into intuitive, real-time visualizations directly on your dashboard.

Why Visualize a Soundscape?

A "soundscape" is the total acoustic environment of an area. Analyzing it can help in:

  • Predictive Maintenance: Detecting subtle changes in machinery sounds (a new whine or rumble) can predict failures.
  • Environmental Monitoring: Tracking urban noise pollution or studying wildlife by their calls.
  • Quality Control: Ensuring the sound a product makes (a click, a hum) is consistent.
  • Security: Detecting anomalies like breaking glass or alarms.

The Soundscape Widget presents this complex information in a way that is easy to understand on your IoT dashboard.

Key Features of the Soundscape Widget

  1. Waveform Line: Shows the audio's amplitude over time, great for observing overall volume.
  2. Frequency Bars (Spectrogram): Uses an FFT to break the audio into its constituent frequencies. This lets you see not just how loud a sound is, but what pitches it contains.

Audio Sources

  • Browser Microphone: Directly access your device's microphone for on-the-spot analysis.
  • API Stream: Analyze an audio stream from a URL.
  • MQTT Topic: Subscribe to a topic publishing decibel levels, perfect for remote IoT sensors.

How to Configure the Soundscape Widget

Use Case 1: Real-Time Microphone Analysis

  1. Add the Widget: Add the "Audio Spectrum" widget to your dashboard.
  2. Configure Data Source: Set the Data Source Type to Bluetooth (this is used to request microphone permissions).
  3. Grant Permission: Click the "Grant Access" button on the widget and allow microphone use in your browser.

Use Case 2: Monitoring a Decibel Level via MQTT

Imagine an ESP32 device publishing noise levels in decibels (dB) to the topic factory/floor1/noise_level.

  1. Add the Widget: Add a new "Audio Spectrum" widget.
  2. Configure Data Source: Set the Data Source Type to MQTT.
  3. Set MQTT Details:
    • Enter your Broker details.
    • Set the Topic to factory/floor1/noise_level.
  4. Adjust Min/Max Decibels: Calibrate the widget's progress bar to the expected range of your sensor (e.g., 30 dB to 110 dB).

The widget will now display a bar that reflects the noise level received from your sensor.

Conclusion: From Noise to Knowledge

The Soundscape Widget transforms raw audio into actionable visual insights. It adds a powerful new dimension to your IoT monitoring systems, turning what was once just noise into valuable knowledge.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)