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CloseBOSE: CREATING IMMERSIVE AUTO CABIN EXPERIENCES WITH PREMIUM AUDIO
We’ve all heard the phrase “getting there is half the fun” when driving to a vacation destination. But this isn’t really the case when you factor in bickering kids, a cranky co-pilot, or bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Bose, the industry pioneer of factory-installed, premium sound systems, has designed advanced technologies that, while not eliminating all car traveling annoyances, have helped to dramatically limit one: road noise.
In collaboration with Analog Devices and its advanced automotive audio technologies, Bose helps enable road noise control and deliver a more immersive, relaxed, in-cabin experience.
Bose prides itself on delivering high quality audio since the 1960s. Along for the ride has been ADI, who has worked with Bose for decades providing customized integrated circuits and processing technologies for some of the most iconic products in Bose’s consumer portfolio.
That partnership continues today. Bose uses ADI’s breakthrough technologies in automotive sound system design to enable premium, immersive audio experiences in the vehicle cabin, including industry-leading QuietComfort® road noise control.
ADI’s technologies have helped us achieve the acoustic performance that stands behind Bose automotive solutions. In the future, our collaboration will allow us to move beyond the realm of great music reproduction in the car to help us solve for road noise control, EV sound enhancement, and listening experiences based on Bose SeatCentric® technology.Remco Terwal
Automotive Advanced Development | Bose
AT A GLANCE
COMPANY
Bose, founded by Dr. Amar Bose in 1964, is a world-renowned company recognized for innovating premium audio experiences, transforming how people listen to music across home, mobile, and automotive environments.
GOAL
Leverage Bose’s renowned sound and noise cancellation capabilities to create the highest quality, most personalized and immersive in-cabin experience in the automotive industry.
CHALLENGES
A technical solution that supports the real-time (low latency) requirements of complex audio applications such as road noise control; a simpler, lighter solution to connect various microphones, controllers, accelerometers, and speakers.
ADI SOLUTIONS
Low latency, power efficient, and scalable audio performance combining ADI A2BTM Audio Bus – Automotive technology and SHARC® DSP (digital signal processing).
COLLABORATING FOR A CAUSE: IMMERSIVE AUTOMOTIVE CABIN SOUND
An average car cruising a road with a smooth surface will typically produce sounds measuring around 70 dB.1 On uneven roads, noise from inside the tire cavities and engine whine could push this figure higher. To counteract the unwanted sound, vehicle manufacturers have used several techniques to help insulate the cabin.
However, according to Bose, these traditional mechanical methods of reducing low frequency noise from the road, tires, and chassis—including thick insulation, undercoating, and heavier chassis components—have meant adding significant mass to vehicles. That added mass has a negative impact on things like fuel economy and electric vehicle range.
Bose’s road noise control system, powered by ADI’s DSP technology, uses accelerometers and microphones connected via A2B to detect unwanted cabin noise. The system rapidly processes this data to generate a cancellation signal that is emitted through the vehicle’s speakers, aligning precisely with the road noise to effectively cancel it out and tailored to OEM specifications. This integration of Bose’s unique algorithms and ADI’s advanced processing capabilities ensures a quieter, more immersive in-cabin experience. This particularly benefits EVs, which lack traditional engine sounds that mask noise coming from the tires and road.
AUDIO AMBITIONS IN HARMONY
Through an open and collaborative relationship, ADI understood the specific challenges Bose looked to solve for its diverse customer base. In fact, ADI consults with Bose during development of each new generation of audio processor and uses this valuable input to ensure ADI technologies and architectures map perfectly to Bose’s future needs. This unique partnership fosters co-creation and enables ADI to produce a better product, which in turn benefits the entire market.
On the road to achieving one of the best-in-class automotive cabin audio experiences, ADI discovered that emerging whole-vehicle computing solutions struggle to support the real-time (low latency) requirements of complex audio applications such as road noise cancellation. That’s why Bose turned to ADI’s SHARC audio processors and A2B to achieve high performance audio solutions across Bose’s active sound management (ASM) portfolio.
ADI TECHNOLOGIES ARE MUSIC TO BOSE EARS
| TECHNOLOGY | SHARC DSP | A2B™ Audio Bus - Automotive |
| FUNCTION | Deterministic, scalable processing focused on latency-critical audio applications. Large on-board memory, filter accelerators, and an audio-focused peripheral set power road noise control and personal audio zones. | High bandwidth, bidirectional, multichannel, digital audio bus transports high quality audio, control, clock, and power using a single unshielded, twisted pair cable; connects various microphones, controllers, and accelerometers in vehicle. |
| BENEFIT | Eliminates clicks, pops, and other annoying audio artifacts that negatively impact the listening experience. | Low and deterministic latency enables all-digital, road noise cancellation; Significantly simpler wiring reduces harness weight compared to traditional analog cabling. |
BOSE SEATCENTRIC EXPERIENCE—MORE PERSONALIZED AUDIO
Bose SeatCentric technology allows each passenger within the automotive cabin to choose their own listening experience, regardless of what the other passengers are listening to. So, if dad needs to take a work call or listen to navigation instructions, he can do so while everyone else listens to music at their chosen volume, and all this can be adjusted on a seat-by-seat basis. Plus, rear-seat audio can be actively canceled so back-seat passengers can snooze or listen to their brought-in devices while passengers in the front seat are not affected. It’s all possible thanks to SeatCentric technology. Imagine, everyone listening to what they want, when they want, without disturbing each other during those long family road trips.
The same underlying ADI technologies (A2B and SHARC audio processors) that deliver low latency audio are essential in achieving Bose’s vision for a personalized, SeatCentric experience.
SWEET SOUND OF SUCCESS: ADVANCED PROCESSING POWER FOR ADVANCED AUDIO APPLICATIONS
The growing demand for advanced automotive audio algorithms and software also drives the requirements for more channels, nodes, and bandwidth in the A2B audio bus. Bose is poised to utilize ADI’s advanced power management, processing, and connectivity technologies to address these challenges and continue delivering innovative, immersive audio solutions. The close and collaborative partnership between Bose and ADI is crucial for sustaining their leadership in innovation and achieving audio breakthroughs for future generations.
References
1 Driver Knowledge Tests: Choosing a Quiet Car and How Cabin Noise Affects Your Concentration.
