ANC windows against noise
Especially on busy roads it can get loud as soon as you open the window. But a new invention from Singapore is supposed to be the solution.
Anyone who likes to open the window on warm summer days and lives on a busy street knows the problem: open windows often mean unbearable noise within your own four walls. A scientific team from Singapore has now declared war on this problem. The research group at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore has developed a window system that uses loudspeakers to suppress the noise coming from outside so effectively that it can be almost completely eliminated. Noise is one of the most common factors when talking about stress on the human body. The research team has also recognised this and is now presenting its window system, which is set to revolutionise living in urban environments. The installed loudspeaker systems generate a counter-noise that hermetically seals the open window. For this purpose, a microphone controls the exact strength of the sound to be generated and thus neutralizes the level from outside. Especially recently, when we are reading more and more about noise protection zones, the novel window from Asia is a further step towards less noise pollution.
Incidentally, the basic function of the window of the future is similar to how Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) works in headphones, which actively suppress external noise and thus guarantee unadulterated listening pleasure.
However, it remains to be seen whether the system will pay off and become established in Europe as well. The installation of the loudspeakers, 24 in the Singapore model, requires a lot of space between the window frames - to the disadvantage of an active air exchange, which is the real reason why you would open a window at all...
Technical innovation with sense or just a trivial attempt to take money out of the consumer's pocket?