Reconstruction of recorded sound from an Edison cylinder using three-dimensional noncontact optical surface metrology
Vitaliy Fadeyev, Carl Haber, Christian Maul, J.W. McBride, Mitchell Golden · ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) · 2004
Audio information stored in the undulations of a groove in a mechanical sound carrier, such as a cylinder or disc phonograph record, may be reconstructed, without contact, by measuring the groove shape and position using precision optical metrology methods and digital image processing. This report describes the first three-dimensional reconstruction of recorded sound from a mechanical carrier using this approach. The source material, a celluloid Edison cylinder, was scanned using color-coded confocal microscopy techniques. The results and prospects of this approach are discussed.