Head make snowboards that have active vibration control systems incorporated into the board to reduce vibrations using piezoelectric strips. Their system is called the Adaptive Intelligence(TM) Chip Technology. Check out the Head’s Monster i.M 75 Chip Super Railflex skis.
See a demonstration of their system here.
Honda was implemented an active noise control (ANC) system in two of their new cars: the Odyssey minivan and the Acura RL luxury sedan. The system is designed to reduce the noise inside the passenger cabin that originates from the engine.
Cornell University’s Nanoscale Facility (NSF) have created a silicon cantilever vibrating beams that are 6-10 microns long and can be used to identify the mass of molecules such as viruses and other pathogens.
For more information read the full article on the Cornell University web site.
The Active 2004 conference in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA was once again a fascinating conference. The topics that were covered were very broad that included new types of acoustic sensors, algorithms, fundamental studies in active aerodynamic control systems, psychoacoustics, and many practical installations of active noise control systems.
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Oki Electric Industry Company has released what they claim is the world’s thinnest tri-axial accelerometer that utilizes MEMS technology. The ML8950 detects tri-axis acceleration, inclination and vibration and outputs the signal in a digital format.
The 17th International Symposium on Nonlinear Acoustics will be held at The Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania, USA, on July 18 – 22, 2005.
The deadline for abstract submission is February 14, 2005. Further information about ISNA 17 can be found at the Symposium’s website
Bruel and Kjaer have released a new surface mount microphone (Type 4948) that is only 2.5mm in height. The microphone supports the TEDS identification system.
Read more on the Bruel and Kjaer web site.
A Japanese company called Let’s Corporation has released a product that consists of a vibration shaker attached to a plastic tube that can vibrate a bunch of flowers. The vibrating flowers emit sound.
See the Let’s Corporation web site for more details.
ANSYS finite element analysis software version 8.1 is now available. Read the ANSYS web site for the new improvements in this latest version.
Microstrain have released a set of wireless sensors such as tri-axial accelerometers, inclinometers, strain gauges, and thermocouples. The wireless devices have a range of about 30m.