Automotive ANC sensors reduce road noise
Commonly associated with high-end headphones, ANC technology, says the company, transforms how car manufacturers address road-based noises. Instead of installing expensive and heavy sound-absorbing materials to insulate car interiors from excessive road noise, ANC sensors are designed to be installed on a car’s chassis for more accurate and efficient results, however, devices mounted to wheel wells and car frames must be built to withstand the harshest conditions.
Its ANC sensors, says the company, will play a critical role in combating unwanted road, wind, and HVAC car noise while reducing low-frequency sounds that increase driver fatigue.
“As the transition to electrified vehicles intensifies, it will become critical to reduce road noise, which today is masked by internal combustion engines,” says Carrieanne Piccard, VP and General Manager, Transportation Solutions Business Unit, Molex. “Our long history in the automotive industry uniquely positions Molex to develop powerful, durable sensor technology that captures and cancels road noises while enabling safe and enjoyable driving experiences.”
The company’s family of ANC accelerometer and microphone sensors use Analog Devices‘ Automotive Audio Bus (A2B) technology to ensure delivery of high-fidelity audio while significantly reducing cabling complexity, costs, and weight. By pairing its sensors with the A2B network, says the company, it transmits noise signals to the processing unit in less than two milliseconds.
The sensors include integral connectors and are daisy chained to simplify integration while providing up to a 30% reduction in cable weight. Derived from the company’s Mini50 Connector family, the connectors offer up to 50% space savings over traditional USCAR 0.64 connectors.
The sensors are also available in different housings, including an IP6K9K enclosure, to ensure greater protection from harsh conditions while enabling placement closest to the road noise. Detecting the sound at its source speeds processing of the noise-canceling signal; A2B technology also allows a higher number of signals per chain to be processed.
Unlike other products on the market, says the company, its sensors are sensitive enough to measure and cancel road noise at slower vehicle speeds, giving designers greater flexibility in sensor placement while simplifying engineering. The company has also tested and validated the use of its RNC sensor with noise cancelling technology developer Silentium‘s “Active Acoustics” software, which removes up to 90% of unwanted noises across a broad band of frequencies (from 20 Hz to 1 kHz) to improve driver and occupant comfort, safety and well being.
In particular, the elimination of frequent humming or droning noises coming from roads and tires is critical to decreasing “highway hypnosis” and driver fatigue.
Yoel Naor, CEO of Silentium adds, “Seamless integration of Molex’s sensors with our software also reduces automotive design cycles and engineering costs.”
For more on Molex’s Active Noise Cancellation Sensors see “Active Noise Cancellation Sensors.”
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