RTJ_vol1_EN

8/24

HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGYSound Level MetersRion introduced its rst sound level meter during Japan’s post-war recovery when noise from factories and public transportation systems emerged as a major social issue. More than half a century has passed since then. Today, to learn about the his-tory and technological development of portable sound level meters, we’ll interview Tomoharu Wakabayashi, an engineer who devoted many of his years at Rion to the development of sound level meters.From Maker of Sound Level Meters to Leader in Acoustic MeasurementPart 1:Interview and article by Kana YokotaPhoto by Yuki AkabaRion’s Technologies Over the YearsTomoharu WakabayashiDirector of the Innovation Promotion Divi-sion. He’s been involved in the develop-ment of sound level meters for more than 20 years since joining Rion in 1986. With his mindset of always thinking one step ahead of trends in measurement technolo-gies, his role in designing circuits offering both high precision and low power con-sumption, and in promoting the transition from analog to digital instruments has been pivotal in Rion’s history of sound level meter development.6