Hyundai Motor develops the world’s first road-noise control technology

Hyundai Motor Group has developed the world’s first system that uses sound waves to keep out the road noise and will apply it to the Genesis SUV GV80 due to be launched this month.

The Korean automaker announced Monday that it has commercialized the Road-noise Active Noise Control (RANC) system after six years of efforts and applied for patents on its core technologies in South Korea and the United States. The new system drastically reduces the noise caused by the friction between tiers and the surface of the road.

The RANC system keeps down noise levels by conducting a real-time analysis of various types of road noise and sending out inverted sound waves through speakers to offset the noise only in 0.002 seconds. By using an acceleration sensor to measure vibrations, the technology will analyze the noise with a control computer called DSP to identify the type and size of the noise and create inverted sound waves accordingly. The system drops noise levels in the cabin by 3 decibels, half the noise a passenger hears from a regular car, providing a quiet driving experience.

“The benefits of the RANC system will be even more pronounced if the technology is applied to hydrogen-powered vehicles and electric vehicles that have little noise from the internal combustion engine,” a source from Hyundai explained.


Do-Hyong Kim dodo@donga.com