Ĺ koda's Duobell bicycle bell outsmarts ANC headphones
ANC headphones in road traffic are dangerous. Ĺ koda has developed a mechanical bell that outsmarts the filter algorithms.
Ĺ koda Duobell bicycle bell
(Image: Ĺ koda)
Headphones, especially those with active noise cancellation (ANC), isolate you from your surroundings. That is their purpose. However, they can become a danger in road traffic. The Czech car manufacturer Ĺ koda has developed a bell that even ANC cannot filter out.
Škoda calls the bell Duobell, which was developed in cooperation with researchers from the University of Salford in North West England. It has two tones – hence the name – and is designed to function without electronic systems and still be perceived by wearers of ANC headphones. This is how the bell outsmarts the ANC algorithms, explains Škoda. It is “an analogue solution to a digital problem”.
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In tests, the researchers from Salford found out that there is a gap in ANC headphones: a frequency that ANC systems cannot filter out. The gap is in the range between 750 Hertz and 780 Hertz. Designing a bell for this frequency range, however, proved to be not entirely easy, as the corresponding bell needs to be large, which is impractical on a bicycle.
A second bell for the Duobell
In addition to the low tone, the Duobell has a second bell with a higher frequency. For this, the developers have created a hammer that utilizes the property of ANC systems, which best filter out uniform tones by generating an opposing sound wave. The bright bell of the Duobell emits fast and irregular beats. This creates sound waves that ANC algorithms cannot process quickly enough, Ĺ koda announced.
(Image:Â Ĺ koda)
In tests, it was shown that test subjects wearing ANC headphones perceived the Duobell from a distance 22 meters greater and 5 seconds earlier than conventional bicycle bells. That is the difference between stepping aside or a collision.
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Incidentally, the fact that the car manufacturer Ĺ koda produces a bicycle product can be understood from the company's history: the Czechs started as bicycle manufacturers before the company moved on to cars via motorcycles.
It is not yet clear when the Duobell will be launched on the market.
(wpl)
