From July 1, any electric vehicle with four or more wheels that wants to be approved for road use in the European Union is going to have to have an "Acoustic Vehicle Alert System," or AVAS, fitted, making a continuous noise of at least 56 decibels if the car's going 20kmh or slower.
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Imagine talking to someone across a crowd of thousands without using a phone, or sitting way up the back at a concert, but hearing everything perfectly. This is the promise of acoustic lenses, and researchers at the universities of Sussex and Bristol in the UK think they’ve something to shout about.
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Three years ago, Yamaha launched a new line of acoustic guitars sporting technology originally developed for its pianos. The TransAcoustic guitars could breathe concert hall warmth into the driest of rooms. A bunch of new models were released in January, and we snagged one of them to try out.
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In our increasingly noisy world, it can be hard to find some quiet time. Now, a team of mechanical engineers at Boston University has developed a new device that is specially designed to block up to 94 percent of incoming sound waves, while still letting air pass through.
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Fender may be forever associated with Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars, but that hasn't stopped the company experimenting with form and function over the years. Now Fender has come up with an acoustic guitar that can be an electric when you need it – the American Acoustasonic Telecaster.
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For some time now, Bose has been using the car stereo to help cancel out engine noise and give car users a quieter ride. Now the company has announced it's going to extend the system to manage road and tire noise as well - which could have knock-on effects for efficiency and lightweighting.
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Laser-based tattoo removal is typically a long process, often requiring 10 or more treatment sessions spread several weeks apart from one another. A new acoustic system, however, could reportedly allow for complete tattoo removal in as little as two to three closely-spaced sessions.
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Bats eat a lot of moths, which they locate in the dark via echolocation. According to new research, however, some moths have evolved sound-absorbing fur as a passive means of defence – and it could inspire advances in human technology.
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Amazonian lakes and rivers don't always have the clearest of water, so how do biologists know if piranhas are present? They can always try fishing for the things, although according to new research, listening for their "barks" may be a better way to go.
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Researchers at the University of Sussex have developed SoundBender, a technology that bends sound waves around obstacles to acoustically levitate objects above them.
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