Indian Institute of Technology Researches Eco-Friendly Sound Absorbers From Seaweed

From airplanes to apartments, most spaces are now designed with sound-absorbing materials that help dampen the droning, echoing and murmuring sounds of everyday life. But most of the acoustic materials that can cancel out human voices, traffic and music are made from plastic foams that aren’t easily recycled or degraded. Now, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur have created a biodegradable seaweed-derived film that effectively absorbs sounds in that frequency range.

The automotive industry continues to evolve. A new survey by Asahi Kasei Europe shows that changing mobility behavior and the growing autonomy of cars will profoundly impact the user’s driving experience. Automotive interior features are on their way to become the main differentiating element influencing buying decisions – and within the interior, the need towards premium, hygienic and sound-absorbing surfaces is on the rise.

The Room Acoustics Reporter PC software from NTi Audio, in combination with the DS3 Dodecahedron Speaker and the XL2 Sound Level Meter provide the perfect solution for acoustics evaluation of a room, performing reverberation time optimization calculations and providing comprehensive reporting according to ISO 3382 and DIN 18041 standards. Useful for anyone working on analysis and evaluation of room acoustics the XL2 and the Room Acoustics Reporter software even allow simulation of acoustic treatment options with absorption data from manufacturers.

Microsoft contracted Eckel Noise Control Technologies to design and build a new anechoic chamber for audio and device testing at its Redmond, Washington Audio Lab. Independent tests of the main chamber by Brüel & Kjær confirmed that — at -20.6 dB — Microsoft and Eckel had shattered the previous world record for Quietest Place on Earth and far surpassed engineers’ prediction of -16 dB.