A hearing protection and situational awareness system includes a wearable device, speakers, one or more beamformers, a microphone array, and a computation unit. The system generates a three-dimensional (3D) binaural sound for enhanced situational awareness; provides hearing protection by active noise cancelation; provides hearing enhancement by automatic gain control; and performs background noise reduction and cancelation. The system performs automated sound detection, identification, and localization, with automated voice assistance, and facilitates clear two-way communications. Each beamformer(s) outputs a sound track associated with a sound captured by the microphone array in a direction(s) of an acoustic beam pattern(s). The computation unit combines filtered sound tracks generated using head-related transfer function (HRTF) filters into left and right sound channels to drive the speaker(s) in left and right hearing members of the wearable device, respectively, thereby generating a 3D binaural sound including cues of the sound source directions.

A notebook computer includes a control chip, a speaker, and the fan. The control chip and the fan are disposed inside a chassis of the notebook computer. The method includes: controlling, by the control chip, the speaker to send a first sound signal, where the first sound signal and a first noise signal that is generated by running of the fan have opposite phases and a same frequency. The first sound signal is used to cancel the first noise signal.

Communication apparatus and devices for surgical robotic systems are described. The communication apparatus can include a user console in communication with a communication device having a surgical tool. The communication device can include a microphone to convert a sound input into an acoustic input signal. The communication device can transmit the acoustic input signal to the user console for reproduction as a sound output for a remote operator. The surgical tool can include an endoscope having several microphones mounted on a housing. The surgical tool can be a sterile barrier having a microphone and a drape. The microphone(s) of the surgical tools can face a surrounding environment such that a tableside staff is a source of the sound input that causes the sound output, and a surgeon and the tableside staff can communicate in a noisy environment. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

An active noise control system (500) includes a structure (80) and a plurality of piezoelectric speakers (10). The piezoelectric speakers (10) are disposed on a surface (80s) of the structure (80). The piezoelectric speakers (10) each have a radiation surface extending along a first direction (D1) and a second direction (D2). The first direction (D1) is a direction along which centers of the radiation surfaces of the piezoelectric speakers (10) are arranged so that the piezoelectric speakers (10) are adjacent to each other. The second direction (D2) is a direction orthogonal to the first direction (D1). The radiation surface of each of the piezoelectric speakers (10) is shorter in a dimension (L1) in the first direction (D1) than in a dimension (L2) in the second direction (D2).

A collaborative distributed microphone array is configured to perform or be used in sound quality operations. A distributed microphone array can be operated to provide sound quality operations including sound suppression operations and speech intelligibility operations for multiple users in the same environment.

This disclosure relates to improved techniques for electronic noise cancellation in aircraft and other enclosures. In certain embodiments, an electronic noise cancellation device can be installed in an aircraft. In certain embodiments, the electronic noise cancellation device can include a housing that integrates: one or more audio input devices that are configured to receive an input audio signal; one or more audio output devices configured to output a noise cancellation signal; one or more lighting components; and at least one connector that enables the electronic noise cancellation device to be coupled to an overhead service component of the aircraft. In certain embodiments, the electronic noise cancellation device is adapted to be received in a lighting socket of the overhead service component included within an aircraft enclosure. Other embodiments are disclosed.

A sound system includes: a control system that generates a control signal for erasing noise from a signal of the noise in a place close to a head of a user who uses a seat; a silencing speaker system that is installed at the place close to the head of the user who uses the seat and includes M speaker units each emitting a sound based on the control signal; and an emission suppression unit including at least a sound absorbing material that easily absorbs only a sound having a frequency greater than or equal to a predetermined value and configured to make it difficult for the sound having the frequency greater than or equal to the predetermined value emitted from the silencing speaker units to be emitted to a place other than an ear of the user. The m-th silencing speaker unit is arranged so that a sound emitted from the m-th silencing speaker unit in the m-th silencing user direction is silenced at a place other than a place close to the head of the user who uses the seat due to coming around of a sound emitted from the m-th silencing speaker unit in a direction opposite to the m-th silencing user direction.

Exemplary noise reducing methods and systems are configured to acoustically reproduce two electrical noise reducing signals at two opposing positions in a helmet; to pick up sound at positions in the vicinity of the positions where the noise reducing signals are reproduced; and to generate the two noise reducing signals from error-signals and reference-signals. For each noise reducing signal, the corresponding error-signal is generated from the sound picked-up at the same position where the respective noise reducing signal is reproduced; and the reference-signal is generated from the sound picked-up at the position where the respective other noise reducing signal is reproduced.

A noise reduction device and method comprises: at least one sound pickup microphone module for picking up sound from a medium to generate a noise pickup signal; at least one speaker driver for transmitting, to the medium, a vibration corresponding to a noise cancellation signal generated on the basis of the noise pickup signal; and a controller for generating the noise cancellation signal on the basis of the noise pickup signal.

The voice control device includes a sound source signal input unit, a frequency determination unit, a band controller, a sound image controller, and a voice output unit. The sound source signal input unit inputs a sound source signal of content from a sound source. The frequency determination unit determines a cutoff frequency. The band controller acquires a high frequency signal in a frequency band equal to or higher than the cutoff frequency and a low frequency signal in a frequency band equal to or lower than the cutoff frequency, from the sound source signal of the content. The sound image controller generates a plurality of sound image control signals for controlling sound images of the plurality of speakers, by controlling at least one of a phase and a sound pressure level of the high frequency signal. The voice output unit outputs the low frequency signal to a first speaker, and outputs the plurality of sound image control signals to a second speaker composed of a plurality of speakers.