Industries, city planners, architects, civil engineers and construction experts seeking to reduce noise have access to new mapping software from specialists, SoundPLAN GmbH. The latest version of its world-leading software, SoundPLANnoise version 8.2, which can be used at the planning and design stage, has many new and redesigned features to model levels and dispersion of noise. Mapping software is a crucial tool to tackle nuisance noise. It is used to identify the cause, location and propagation of sound. With a noise map, it is possible to show not only current noise levels but also projected ones. This means that noise can be mapped and mitigated at the building design stage before a single concrete block is laid. Planners can then test scenarios and assess the best options to reduce excessive noise and protect workers and communities from its harmful effects.Key new featuresIn the main library, the Geo-Database, where data is stored, the Situation Manager has a number of additional functions, improving how information can be filtered and displayed. This enables the user to work more efficiently and easier. Improvements for importing large amounts of data. For example, objects can now be automatically divided into areas or tiles in a very clearly structured way.Many variants can now be managed in an industrial building or a room. For example, different planned acoustic concepts with different screens or absorbers can be compared for an office, or the acoustic improvement from enclosing loud machines in a factory hall. All surfaces and sources within an industrial building/room can be displayed colour-coded in the Geo-Database as well as in the noise map display. This enables quick graphical control of the assigned absorption, transmission or emission spectra.  Complete revision of the interface in the Building AcousticsOutside (ISO 12354-3:2017) section. This is a calculation model to estimate the sound insulation against outdoor sound or the sound pressure level radiated due to airborne sound inside that building. The calculation is based on the sound reduction index of the different elements from which the façade is constructed. This includes direct and flanking transmission.New international noise guidelines incorporated into the noise propagation calculation to meet the latest noise standards, including SonROAD18 (Switzerland) and GPM2019 (Scandinavia). The quality assurance according to ISO/TR 17534-3 of the European directive, Common Noise Assessment Methods in Europe (CNOSSOS-EU) continues, and the software meets over fifty different national and international standards.Jochen Schaal, Managing Director, SoundPLAN GmbH, said, “Our comprehensive software for noise modeling and room acoustics calculations is an all-round software designed to meet all your needs. It covers everything from modelling, calculation and tabular documentation in various levels of detail, to meaningful plans for road and rail noise, aviation, commercial and leisure noise, and sound propagation within buildings, including room acoustics.”SoundPLAN version 8.2 Video contentWith SoundPLANnoise version 8.2, objects can now be automatically divided into areas or tiles and are thus available in a very clearly structured way directly after the import. For the consideration of a directivity assigned to a line source there is a new option directivity follows the line source. This makes it very easy to model racetracks, for example and eliminates the need for manual splitting into sub-sources.Image caption:SoundPLAN v8.2 combines environmental data with terrain maps, such as Google Earth, so you can get a very realistic picture of how noise would travel.