JUST when you thought technology in cars couldn’t become more bizarre, out comes news of a technological marvel…
Harman is pioneering an in-car entertainment system that allows each occupant to listen to what they want.
No longer will the driver be able to dictate that if he wants S Club Seven on the CD player, everyone else in the car has to suffer, too.
The new system is called ISZ – Individual Sound Zones – and utilises a vehicle’s existing audio system speakers with the addition of headrest speakers equipped with micro-speaker technology, along with thin and flat Electro Dynamic Planar Loudspeakers in the vehicle ceiling.
With us so far?
The digital signal processing has been specifically adjusted to the vehicle cabin and speakers so it will temper the signals from other zones, regardless of whether they are music, voice or other noises. Each passenger can activate and control their ‘zone’. Passengers can still hear other sounds in the cabin, but those sounds are controlled in a way that limits the interruptions and distractions to each passenger’s own sound experience.
‘We’re pushing the barriers of sound and creating the ultimate personalized experience throughout the vehicle cabin.’ says Michael Mauser, president of the Lifestyle Division of Harman.
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