MicArr is a plug-and-play microphone array daughter board designed for real-time acoustic analysis, beamforming, and direction-of-arrival estimation using National Instruments’ sbRIO and myRIO platforms.
Ideal for research, education, and prototyping, MicArr supports applications in spatial audio, sound imaging, and noise source localization. With FPGA-based data acquisition and LabVIEW APIs, it enables high-speed signal processing and integrates seamlessly with Ngene’s BFDOA Toolkit for advanced beamforming and acoustic visualization.
Available Configurations of Microphone Layouts
Available in configurations from 16 to 25 MEMS microphones arranged in rectangular, circular, or spiral grids, MicArr transforms sbRIO into a versatile and high-performance acoustic sensing system.
Uniform Rectangular Array​
Square 2D array with number of microphones from 4x4 up to 8x8 microphone array with variable
distance from 2cm to 4cm​
Circular Array​​
The number of microphones reaches up to 60 with the diameter of the circle varying from 4cm (2x2) up to 50cm and sound imaging
Spiral Array​
Logarithmic displacement of microphones with the number of microphones from 20 to 60 and diameter of outer circle from 20cm up to 50cm​
Key Features​
Multi-Channel Real-Time Data Acquisition
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High-speed capture using FPGA-based streaming for low-latency processing.
16- to 25-Channel Microphone Arrays
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Rectangular Array: Uniform 4×4 grid with 60 mm spacing
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Circular Array: 19 microphones arranged in a 20 cm diameter circle
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Spiral Array: 25 microphones placed along 5 logarithmic spirals
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Custom geometries available upon request
Software API
High-level waveform access for online or offline analysis in LabVIEW.
BFDOA Toolkit Compatibility
Fully compatible with Ngene's Beamforming and Direction-Finding Toolkit for advanced acoustic imaging.
Ready-to-Use Examples
Includes LabVIEW reference projects for rapid prototyping and experimentation.
Use Cases
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Acoustic beamforming and spatial filtering
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Sound source localization
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Acoustic imaging for research and diagnostics
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Educational demonstrations of DSP and array processing
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Prototyping embedded real-time audio systems
Technical Specifications (Rectangular Array Example)
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Specification Value
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Number of Microphones 16 / 25
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Array Geometry Rectangular, Circular, Spiral
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Microphone Spacing 60 mm (Rectangular)
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Sampling Rate 32 kSa/s
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Frequency Range 100 Hz – 16 kHz
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Sensitivity -26 dB
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Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) 69 dB
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Acoustic Overload Point 120 dB SPL
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Dynamic Range 24-bit
System Requirements
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NI sbRIO or MyRIO
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Windows 10 or later
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LabVIEW Full Development System
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LabVIEW Real-Time Module
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LabVIEW FPGA Module
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Ngene BFDOA Toolkit (recommended for beamforming applications)
Integration with BFDOA Toolkit
MicArr is fully integrated with Ngene’s BFDOA Toolkit, enabling users to implement leading beamforming algorithms such as Delay-and-Sum, MUSIC, Bartlett, and MVDR. The toolkit also supports 3D beam pattern visualization and real-time acoustic simulation directly within LabVIEW.
BFDOA
Beamforming and Direction Finding Toolkit for LabVIEW
A LabVIEW toolkit for advanced spatial audio processing, supporting beamforming and direction-of-arrival estimation for microphone arrays and sensor systems. It enables precise localization and filtering of sound sources, ideal for applications in audio signal enhancement, noise reduction, and acoustic monitoring