Science News Archive

Mobiles That Can Iron Out Background Noise

Imagine you're in a crowded pub, or out with someone you ought not to be, and your boss calls your mobile. The noise in the background would instantly belie your true whereabouts, and make it difficult to the other person to hear what you were saying over the din. But that could all be about to change thanks to a new phone design from American inventor Jaime Siegel. The new gadget uses 2 microphones - one placed on the side of the phone closest to your face, and the other on the opposite side facing the noisy room or street. The mic closest to your face picks up what you say, plus the background noise, whilst the mic facing the room picks up mostly background noise. Now subtract one signal from the other…and you eliminate a lot of the background noise.

28th Nov 2004