Making Your Room Quiet 416
el_flynn writes "This may be a cure for those of you with loud computers, or perhaps those who spend lots of time in NOC rooms that generate lots of noise: NewScientist.com mentions about a "Silence Machine" that gets rid of unwanted noise. I want one to quiet down my neighbour's loud dogs. " These are also being tested in cars, to make the car quieter. I've got a pair of the headphones that the article alludes to - they make airplane travel much nicer, and having something like this to cancel machine noise would be excellent.
Noise cancelling headphones (Score:5, Interesting)
I was absolutely amazed- I'd tried cheaper noise cancelling technology years ago and not really been able to tell the difference, but this time I was turning the noise cancellation on and off with glee!
I hope they catch on so we can get some volume pricing going:)
Stuff on ears? (Score:2, Interesting)
Another science fiction become science fact (Score:4, Interesting)
Of course, this device isn't as sophisticated - it needs continuous deterministic sound, so it can anticipate in advance what sounds to produce. But it's still interesting - perhaps one day we will have the technology to produce Star Trek translators. Or at least primitive ones designed to automatically convert a single spoken language.
PC Speaker? (Score:1, Interesting)
Frequency conversion (Score:1, Interesting)
this is cool! (Score:4, Interesting)
That being said, the technology is the same thing as noise cancelling head phones (such as these [buy.com], these [about.com], or these [minidisco.com]). These headphones simply rock if you have not tried them.
alternatively, you can use more traditional methods to quiet things down, like insulation. Putting some dynamat [dynamat.com] in your car will really dampen the noise and make it nice.
One thing I have always wanted to try for fun, is get a really sophisticated sound cancellation system with many microphones and many large speakers to broadcast the "anti"sound, and put it in a large area like a park or the mall.
then, don't tell anyone about it and watch the puzzled look on people's faces when they can't hear each other.
maybe it's not possible, but I sure do think it would be funny.
bass (Score:5, Interesting)
Fix My Tinnitus (Score:3, Interesting)
Save money (Score:5, Interesting)
Cost? About $10 - $20 depending on how much you have lying around. Best thing? It lets you use any headphones you like instead of being stuck with the inferior quality of many noise cancelling headphones.
I've done it and it compares well to most sub $100 noise cancelling headphones.
Older than Star Trek (Score:4, Interesting)
So, how does it know which sounds to block? (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Fix My Tinnitus (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Probably sooner than we think... (Score:2, Interesting)
http://www.phraselator.com/ [phraselator.com]
I haven't seen one in person, but I heard a demonstration of one on NPR. Sounds like a pretty cool gadget.
Car noise-cancelling (Score:4, Interesting)
Best bit was that after the car was 'silent', they simply put some nice beefy speakers in the car, linked it to engine RPM and load, and added a bit of computer wizardy. Suddenly the Audi sounded a whole lot more like a Ferrari, or at the flick of a switch , a F1 car (with 12,000 rpm 'wired' to about 4500 real engine rpm), they even had (heh) a jet turbine, but it was a bit crappy, cause turbines don't quite spool up like 4 cylinder cars do
The presenter was having a ball, caning this little car around town - from the camera's position in the car it was pretty realistic.
Pretty much the 'killer app' for noise-cancelling tech in my opinion.
Software-based solutions? (Score:2, Interesting)
Here's a challenge, implement it in one line of Perl :) //whatever
Record -> invert -> playback
mmmmm,
for() { read("/dev/mic", buf); buf = buf * (-1); write("/dev/dsp", bug);}
Yes, I have google'd & freshmeat'ed...
Prevention is better than cure. (Score:2, Interesting)
Would it not be better for case manufacturers to manufacutre boxes that are sealed (sound proof). No air vents. Plus a tiny air compressor (air conditioning) inside that keeps the temperature, humidity at desireable levels. It would also remove what little dust is present too.
Current levels of technology could implement this easily and cheapily. Prevention is better than cure. This is a simple solution, not a bandage fix.
"I would like to change the world, but Microsoft will never give away any source code!"
Similar technology: The Silent Zone (plug) (Score:1, Interesting)
More information can be found here: http://www.silence.no" [silence.no]
Re:Dells (Score:2, Interesting)
Course, I've never really hefted a water-cooled rig before, so I could be wrong, but that's always been the thing I've wondered about it. If it's as heavy as it sounds, it's no wonder I didn't see any at the last lan. Now, on the topic, I think the parent post does raise a good point. As Tim Williamson says in the article, "it probably will have some applications, [but] it would seem far easier and more sensible to avoid making noise in the first place." I have to agree. This sound dampener is really nifty, and proof-of-concept of something I've had in my book for a while because it's the kind of thing that's great for privacy in medbays etc, but it's treating the symptoms, not the cause. Obviously the cause can't always be treated, and there is surely place for these devices, but I think it's also important to try to prevent noise pollution simply by trying to create technologies etc that are quieter in the first place.
Yeah, just shifting the cost, I know.
Complex computer... (Score:2, Interesting)
The article states that to dampen complex noise like speech in realtime, a powerful computer must be used. I'm wondering why. If you have the speech going into the system to be cancelled, isn't there a more simple way to sample the amplitude and just amplify that sound to the right level and pump it through some kind of inversion circuit and out the speakers?
I dunno, maybe an "inversion circuit" isn't possible, but you've already got that sound to work with; all you have to do is put it 180 out of phase. It seems like that should be fairly simple. Kind of a shame to complicate such an elegant idea with anything more than basic computer-aided sampling. Maybe I'm underestimating the difficulty though.
Re:Beyond! (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Older than Star Trek (Score:4, Interesting)
Let's see:
- geosynchronous communications satellites
- noise cancellation
- liquid-mirror telescopes
- giant black monoliths on the...er...never mind, skip that one for now
Dealing with noise sources (Score:4, Interesting)
The power of denial is the great leverage of communication when they KNOW you have done something. Give them enough suspision, but not enough proof. The social engineering object is to use this opportunity to drive your loud argument into their weakened, desperate state.
Intimidate by the power of denial. When they accuse, use this precious time to illustrate their vulnerability. Be mad, not just pissed off. Twist their logic into epic proportions of insanity. They will either leave you alone, or try to match wits. Always trump their argument with a more grandiose element of insanity and do not let them win. After all, they have been playing rap (or other lame noise) at unhuman levels for an inordinate amount of time. Illustrate the chaos they have created.
But always deny knowledge. In this war, you must fight noise with noise. This is insanity at its best. Replace it with your projection how annoying they are. It will throw them off if they try to make a logical case against you. The resulting communication about noise is sure to be music to the ears of other victims.