Scientists at the University of Michigan are developing a mechanical cochlea. The MEMS device is designed to operate underwater and can currently sense acoustic waves in the range from 4.2kHz to 35kHz.
For more information read the UMich press release.
Avon Automotive have released an active vibration isolator for engines. The isolator will be used on the latest Jaguar XJ6 TDVi.
For more information, read Avon’s Vibramount brochure.
STMicroelectronics have released some new MEMS chip type tri-axial accelerometers. The LIS3LV02DQ device is a 3-axis low-g accelerometer with a standard SPI/I²C digital interface. The LIS3L02AL/LIS3L06AL sensors have analog-outputs. The accelerometers can measure both tilt and acceleration along all three (x, y and z) axes at a very low noise level and minimized power consumption.
See the ST Micro web site for more details.
XFX Gear have released a headset for gamers that incorporates a mini-shaker that is powered by the USB port.
For more details see the XFX Web Site.
Sunfire have made a large sub-woofer for mounting in a wall that incorporates an integrated vibration cancellation device that reduces the vibration transmission to the walls in which it is mounted. The ContraBass™ In-Wall Subwoofer has a suggested price of $2,995 each.
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley were able to decode sound recordings of a person typing on a keyboard to recover 96% of the characters.
Read the full news article on the UC Berkeley web site.
Researchers at from Cambridge University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are developing plans for a nearly silent aircraft.
For more information goto the Silent Aircraft web site.
ESI-Group, which bought Vibro-Acoustic Sciences and now owns the old AutoSEA product, has released a new software package that integrates FEA and SEA to enable the analysis of mid-frequency vibro-acoustic problems. This analysis method is brand new and is the result of years of theoretical development and testing. Those in the game might recall the Resound software.
For more information, read the press release on the ESI-Group’s web site.
Unfortunately this web site was hacked. I really wonder about the psyche of people out to destroy rather than create. Hopefully bad karma will catch up with them.
Sensaphonics is a company that develops hearing protectors. They have developed the Delphi earpiece that has in-built accelerometers in the earpieces that measures the acceleration of the users head. These earpieces are worn by Indy car drivers to measure the acceleration of the head during a crash.
Read about the headset here.