Harman, Lotus Engineering Develop Noise-Canceling Technology for Vehicles

Harman, working with Lotus Engineering, developed noise management technology for cars that will enable automakers to use lighter-weight materials and improve fuel economy without raising vehicle noise levels, the company said in a news release Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1CVE0ai). Harman’s HALOsonic Road Noise Cancellation (RNC) technology is said to minimize unwanted noise generated when vehicle tires roll across the road surface by employing “anti-noise” to counteract road noise. The Harman/Lotus technology -- using accelerometers attached to the vehicle’s chassis -- measures the correlation of vibrations coming from the road with resulting noise inside the vehicle cabin and then creates, through proprietary software, inverse sound waves that cancel the noise using the car’s audio system, Harman said. HALOsonic RNC can reduce the peaks of the noise across the target frequency range, creating a quieter experience within the vehicle cabin while ensuring that only wanted engine or road noise, and not music signals within a similar audio range, is canceled, Harman said. Michael Mauser, president of Harman’s lifestyle division, said drivers are less likely to become tired or distracted if there’s less road noise, and by reducing road noise automakers can “exploit lightweight materials without the risk that the perception of quality and harmony in the car will be compromised."