At the International Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week, Dolby displayed their new headphones for use with their 5.1 surround sound technology. The headphones almost eliminate the “listener-fatigue” problem, where the listener perceives sound coming from inside their head.
Read the press release on the Dolby web site.
Endevco have released 2 new accelerometers for vibration measurements. The 2222D is a lightweight accelerometer (1 gm), the 7268C a tri-axial piezoresistive accelerometer that can be used for automotive crash testing.
They have also release a new signal conditioner 482B which is an 8 channel rack mounted board that is compatible with the TEDS (plug-and-play) type sensors.
General Motors’ vice-chairman of product development, Bob Lutz, was interviewed at the Detroit Motor show this week (January 2003) and said that fuel cell cars are so quiet that they are considering making artificial engine noise sounds and playing them through the car’s audio system.
ESCO Technologies has bought Austin Acoustics Systems for $4 million. Austin Acoustics make acoustic enclosures for audiometric testing and the recording industry.
Holosonics is selling the “audio spotlight”, an ultra-sonic loudspeaker than generates audible noise by the non-linear behaviour of air. The radiation pattern is a few degrees, so that sound does not disperse like a conventional loudspeaker. A special signal processing amplifier is required to convert audible signals into the ultra-sonic range.
Read more on the Holosonics web site.
With the investment of ESI Group into Vibro-acoustic Sciences, the makers of AutoSEA and other software products, the company has been split into two groups. The sales office in San Diego and Detroit are now called ESI North America. Vibro-Acoustic Sciences now only exists in San Diego and is a research and develop company, working on improving AutoSEA and continuing to develop the Resound software.
Read the press release on the ESI Group web site.
JMC Products has developed a DC motor for fans that is significantly quieter than conventional motors. In a conventional fan motor a square wave switching voltage is applied to the stator that generates torque ripples and vibrates the entire structure which makes a ticking noise. JMC have reduced this noise by changing the switching frequency to 25kHz, above the range of human hearing.
Read the JMC media release here.
Alpine, a Japanese manufacturer of audio, video and security products for cars, has developed a car audio system called the Alpine F1 Status. Each time the system is switched on, the acoustic characteristics of the cabin are analyzed using a Time Stretched Pulse technique to synchronize the arrival time of sound from the speakers in the car.
Read more on the Alpine web site.
Matsushita, the Japanese company that manufactures under the Panasonic and National brands, have developed a technique to provide a listener wearing headphones the feeling of 3-dimensional sound. Typically people wearing headphones think the noise is coming from the center of their head. The new technique involves modifying the sound to account for the transfer function of the ear canal, so that the listener thinks the sound is coming from in front.
Read the press release on the Matsushita web site.
Panasonic make a range on noise cancellation headphones and earphones. See the Panasonic web site for more details.