SHARE:  
Sponsor
Industry & Product News
USound and Luxshare-ICT Deliver Dual-Driver Audio Module for TWS
Luxshare-ICT, one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers for global consumer electronics brands, and Austrian MEMS pioneer USound have developed Gemini, an innovative hybrid audio module that offers numerous advantages through its two-way audio technology combining a MEMS and a dynamic driver coaxially aligned. The solution not only enhances sound quality but allows effective active noise cancellation (ANC) applications with MEMS drivers, effectively creating an easy dual-driver integration that enables manufacturers to differentiate their products. Read More
Origin Acoustics and WiiM Partner to Create and Distribute Professional Smart Audio Solutions
Origin Acoustics, the dynamic and fast-growing architectural audio and electronic solutions manufacturer and distributor, announced a strategic partnership with WiiM, the streaming audio technology brand created by Linkplay to provide high-quality smart home experiences through accessible AI-connected products. Origin Acoustics and WiiM have joined forces to co-develop cutting-edge WiiM Professional CI Series products, designed to cater to both residential and commercial custom installations. Read More
Martin Audio Announces THS Triaxial Point Source Loudspeaker
Capable of 135dB peak SPL, Martin Audio’s latest announcement, THS, is an extremely powerful point source loudspeaker that combines very high output with extended frequency response. This new design using a custom version of the DCX464 Coaxial HF dual-diaphragm compression driver and a 15" woofer, joins the wider TH series from the British manufacturer, and is ideally suited to medium-scale DJ club applications and installations, which call for exceptionally high sound levels from a compact standalone loudspeaker system. Read More
Audio Precision Launches HDMI2+eARC Module for HDMI2 and eARC Audio Channels Testing
Audio Precision introduced a new HDMI2 + eARC module for the APx range of audio analyzers, providing fully integrated digital I/O connection to audio devices equipped with HDMI2 and eARC. This innovative solution gives designers and manufacturers the ability to easily test audio in a wide range of HDMI audio-compatible devices, including streaming media players, televisions, soundbars, receivers, and Blu-ray players. Read More
Dirac Showcases a New Paradigm in Immersive Automotive Audio at IAA Mobility Show 2023
Swedish digital audio processing specialist Dirac is showcasing the latest version of the Dirac VIRTUO automotive audio solution, for the first time to the European market, at the IAA Mobility Show 2023 in Munich, Germany. During this event (September 5-10, 2023), Dirac OPTEO tuning will be paired with the all-new Trèves "Sonified" technology to showcase a future of automotive audio where smaller, lighter, and more strategically-positioned speaker systems can produce increasingly high-quality sound. Read More
Ambiq Removes Noise in Real-Time with Speech Enhancement AI for Connected Applications
Ambiq introduced the Neural Network Speech Enhancer (NNSE), the latest addition to its neuralSPOT's Model Zoo - a highly optimized AI model that effectively removes background noise from speech on the device in real-time, allowing clean speech capture in noisy environments. As with all Ambiq Model Zoo components, NNSE includes scripts and tools to help developers add speech de-noising capabilities to their applications. Read More
Marshall Unveils Motif II ANC Bluetooth LE Audio Ready True Wireless Earbuds
And it's on! Starting with the IFA show in Berlin, Germany, and until the next CES 2024 in January, the consumer electronics industry is getting ready for a new wave of update announcements, including the first Bluetooth LE Audio "ready" wireless audio transmitters and receiver products. Fresh from its reconversion from Zound Industries into Marshall Group, the legendary brand announced their new flagship TWS earbuds, Motif II ANC. Affordable, up to date with the latest technologies, and with a very familiar form factor. Read More
Crestron Updates Home OS 4 Control Platform and Launches New DM NAX Audio-over-IP Products
Crestron Electronics announced Crestron Home OS 4 will debut at CEDIA Expo 2023 reinforcing the company's position in the global home automation market. The updated platform refines the smart home experience, showcasing a new look and feel with further personalization. Crestron Home OS 4 includes the ability for dealers to add almost any third-party lighting device to the system and allows homeowners to do more without the need to call for assistance. Crestron is also introducing new DM NAX AoIP devices, including its first GaN multizone amplifier and more useful audio peripheral. Read More
StormAudio to Promote Fully AES67 Audio-over-IP (AoIP) Home-Theater Demonstration at CEDIA Expo 2023
StormAudio is inviting all attendees to an historical moment for the company at CEDIA Expo 2023. StormAudio will debut a complete immersive multichannel installation connected using the AES67 Audio-over-IP (AoIP) standard and using exclusively digital signals throughout. With six different demonstrations at the Denver, CO, show, StormAudio will also be updating its range of immersive sound processors with demonstrations of the latest receiver Fusion 20 and the ISP Evo sound processor. Read More
Guest Editorial
Alexander Goldin
(Alango Technologies)
SoundAround Automotive Sound Pickup
Listening to the Outside World from Inside the Car
Alango Technologies is a leading developer and provider of signal processing technologies for voice, audio, and hearing enhancement technologies. Automotive OEMs and their supply chain partners have relied on Alango’s expertise for many years. Millions of vehicles and dozens of car models on the road are powered by Alango’s advanced processing technologies for voice and audio.

The acoustic environment inside a car has unique challenges due to noise and reverberation. Engine, road, wind, and rain noise can vary abruptly in amplitude and spectrum. Sound reflections from hard surfaces generate strong acoustic echoes with long echo tail. Alango’s automotive solutions have been custom developed to overcome these challenges and provide enjoyable voice and audio quality.

Now Alango has come up with a breakthrough technology for autonomous and assistive driving safety. It makes it possible to capture sounds from outside the vehicle without external microphones, while being insensitive to sounds inside the vehicle.
The importance of this technology for autonomous and assisted driving can hardly be overestimated. Detecting sirens and other external sounds is critical for these applications. Another application could be a type of “sound transparency” mode that allows people in the car to hear ambient sounds without opening a window, which can be important for safety in certain situations. Dash cams are another application where recording outside noise can help analyze the recorded video with sounds outside the camera field of view.

Recording external sound can be done by placing a microphone outside the vehicle cabin to be exposed to ambient sound only. However, placing microphones outside the cabin presents a significant challenge. Microphones are fragile and can be easily damaged while the body of a car is exposed to harsh environments: rain, wind, snow, hail, stones, oil, cleaning chemicals, and high-pressure jet washers.

There is a simple solution that works. One can use a vibration sensor that attaches to the windshield or other windows and records sound from the glass vibration. The same type of sensors as used for better voice acquisition in TWS earbuds (e.g., Airpods) will work. There are several companies that have developed such MEMS sensors (e.g., Sonion, Infineon, Knowles, Merry Electronics, Goertek, Vesper, etc.).

However, there is a major problem with any glass vibration signal. It is equally sensitive to sounds outside and inside a car. In many cases, when interior sounds are loud (e.g., music is playing), the corresponding vibration signal of interest (e.g., a siren) is contaminated by interior sounds. This prevents reliable detection of emergency sounds, prevents transparency mode, and affects the audio recorded by the dashcam.
Alango’s SoundAround technology uses a sound acquisition module that attaches to the inside of a car window. At the heart of the module is the vibration sensor, or accelerometer, which records vibrations caused by sounds, both external and internal. Alango's patent-pending DSP software technology is used to clean up vibration sensor signals from components that correspond to sounds inside a car cabin

That is where Alango's technology comes into play. Our DSP software technology enables cancellation of vibration signal components caused by internal noise, while preserving those caused by external sounds. We call this technology SoundAround.

Alango filed a patent application for this invention and is currently discussing cooperation with all the major MEMS voice sensor manufacturers.
Prototype example of SoundAround using a sound pickup module mockup and STMicroelectronics MCU board used for technology prototyping.
For more information about SoundAround technology, visit the Alango website at https://alango.com/soundaround.php. There you can listen to audio samples of the vibration signal before and after SoundAround processing. There are also reference signals from outdoor and indoor microphones.

To perfect the technology and bring it to market, Alango has already begun a collaboration with a leading manufacturer of MEMS vibration voice sensors. More details will be available soon. SoundAround technology will be shown to customers and partners at the upcoming CES 2024 in January. Please contact Alango to schedule a demonstration. Email here.

The next step in SoundAround's development is directional sensing. With multiple SoundAround sensors attached to the windshield and rear window, for example, it is possible to detect differences in arrival time and determine the direction of sound arrival.
The next step in SoundAround's development is directional sensing. With multiple SoundAround sensors attached to the windshield and rear window, for example, it is possible to detect differences in arrival time and determine the direction of sound arrival.
About The Author
Dr. Alexander Goldin is a technology visionary, entrepreneur, and business leader committed to advancing innovation and improving people's lives. Dr. Goldin earned his PhD in mathematics and physics from the Russian Academy of Science. In 1991 he moved to Israel where he served as a technology leader for a number of international companies including IBM Research Lab, Jonson & Jonson and Altec Lansing. In 2002, Dr. Goldin founded Alango Technologies to develop innovative digital audio processing technologies that could revolutionize the quality of communication between people. Under his leadership, Alango has become a global leader in voice and audio processing technologies, serving a wide range of industries, including telecommunications, automotive, hearing aid, and consumer electronics.
About Alango Technologies
Headquartered in Israel, Alango Technologies is a leading provider of digital signal processing technologies for speech, hearing and audio applications. Companies use Alango's software in a wide range of devices, hands-free car kits, conference systems and speakerphones, Bluetooth headsets and TWS earbuds, hearing enhancement and assistive listening products, as well as smart speakers and other voice-controlled devices. Alango's innovative technology passes rigorous certification standards in even the most demanding and noisy environments. The company supports its customers at all stages, from a product concept discussion till the product tuning before mass-production.
Interview
GRAS EQset - “Fire and Forget” Measurement Microphone Series
By Rens Tellers (SonicDesigns)
Rens Tellers interviews Rémi Guastavino, Director of Product Management at GRAS Sound & Vibration, to uncover the details of the new EQset measurement microphone series. This important innovation in measurement microphones is directly targeted at production lines and allows users to reduce spread in specifications compared to what's possible with more traditional microphones. GRAS EQset microphones are powered either by phantom or CCP, manufactured in Denmark, and designed to reduce the risk of measurement errors. Learn about the development and the series' first product on the market. This article was originally published in audioXpress, July 2023. Read the Full Article Now Available Here
Voice Coil Patent Review
Radial Acoustic Speaker
By James Croft
In this article, James Croft discusses a patent granted to Curtis Graber (Woodburn, IN) that describes a radial acoustic speaker assembly including a transducer and a plurality of segmented spiral horns acoustically coupled to the transducer, each with its acoustical path. As Croft discusses, this type of design is used in horizontally omnidirectional loudspeaker systems and has been tested in several different (unsuccessful) iterations. This new patent by prolific audio inventor, Curtis Graber, uses a new multi-spiral waveguide structure driven by a single transducer and has clear advantages over prior art. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, May 2018.  Read the Full Article Now Available Here
audioXpress September 2023: Digital Login
Audio Product Design | DIY Audio Projects | Audio Electronics | Audio Show Reports | Interviews | And More. Read Table of Contents

Don't Have a Subscription?
Voice Coil September 2023: Digital Login
Industry News & Developments | Products & Services | Test Bench | Acoustic Patents | Industry Watch | And More. Read Table of Contents


Advancing the Evolution
of Audio Technology

audioXpress provides unique articles on new audio developments, R&D Stories, valuable market updates, the most complete objective reviews on innovative products and software, and the best DIY audio projects from worldwide experts. The Leading Global Audio Engineering & Development Magazine and Website.

Voice Coil, the periodical for the loudspeaker industry, delivers product reviews, company profiles, industry news, and design tips straight to professional audio engineers and manufacturers who have the authority to make powerful purchasing decisions.

The Loudspeaker Industry Sourcebook is the most comprehensive collection of listings on loudspeaker material in the industry. Purchasers and decision makers refer to the guide for an entire year when making selections on drivers, finished systems, adhesives, domes, crossovers, voice coils, and everything in between.

© 2023 KCK Media Corp. All Rights Reserved.