Here, you need one of these to talk to your broker, while going 200mph.
INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 2000--Researchers from
Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) have given drivers for one of the top
teams on the Formula One racing circuit a clearer way to communicate
with their pit crews during Sunday's SAP U.S. Grand Prix in
Indianapolis.
Drivers from the Benson & Hedges Jordan Grand Prix team will use
helmets equipped with noise-cancellation microphones specially adapted
for use in race cars by Bell Labs researchers and acoustic engineers
from Lucent's Microelectronics Group. In addition, each car is
equipped with electronics that filter the voice signal to make it more
intelligible.
"The cockpit of a Formula One race car is one of the noisiest
places in the world. In spite of this extreme environment, drivers
must be able to communicate with their pit crews," said Mike Frank, an
engineer for the Automotive Products Group within Lucent
Microelectronics.
In addition to the roar of an 800-horsepower engine that sits
directly behind the driver, the cockpit is subjected to high levels of
vibration, extreme temperatures and moisture.
Engine noise is 10,000 times the level of normal conversation,
reaching as high as 130 decibels. By comparison, a person standing
about 300 feet from a jet plane would be exposed to 120 decibels. The
foghorn on a boat puts out 105 decibels, and 100 decibels are produced
by a helicopter hovering about 500 feet overhead.
Engine noise can drown out the driver's voice at critical times
during a race, meaning the driver could only communicate while slowing
down for a turn. By adapting the sophisticated noise-cancellation
technology Lucent uses in its advanced communications systems, Lucent
has made it possible for drivers in the two Jordan cars to maintain
communications with their pit crews at any point during the race.
"With a noise-cancellation microphone the sound coming from a
distance is canceled, but sound that's very close to the microphone,
the voice of the race car driver, is enhanced," said Bell Labs
scientist Jim West, who leads the team that adapted the technology for
Jordan.
Besides the noise coming from the outside, drivers have to deal
with noise inside their helmets, according to West: "There are several
places where external noise can actually get into that helmet: around
the chin, through the air holes or around the face mask."
"After working closely with the Lucent team and extensive testing
of the system, we felt confident that it would improve our car-to-pit
communications during the race," said Jordan Grand Prix Chief Engineer
Tim Holloway. "We have used the Lucent system at the past four Formula
One events and have definitely noticed a clearer channel between the
drivers and pit."
The tiny microphone, which is about a third of an inch in
diameter and an eighth of an inch thick, replaces a much larger design
that is far more sensitive to vibration and the other environmental
factors a race car driver has to deal with. The smaller microphone is
based on the high-performance electret design pioneered at Bell Labs
by West and fellow scientist Gerhard Sessler. Electret microphones,
the most popular kind in the world, produce high fidelity at low cost.
The 190.3-mile SAP U.S. Grand Prix begins at 2 p.m. EDT on
Sunday, Sept. 24, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the
qualifying round on Saturday, Sept. 23. Sunday's race will be the
first U.S. Grand Prix since 1991.
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs
and delivers the systems, software, silicon and services for
next-generation communications networks for service providers and
enterprises. Backed by the research and development of Bell Labs,
Lucent focuses on high-growth areas such as broadband and mobile
Internet infrastructure; communications software; communications
semiconductors and optoelectronics; Web-based enterprise solutions
that link private and public networks; and professional network design
and consulting services. For more information on Lucent Technologies,
visit its Web site at lucent.com or the Bell Labs Web site
at bell-labs.com.
--30--lp/ny*
CONTACT: Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, N.J.
Leslie J. Nicholson, 908/582-5411
ljnicholson@lucent.com
Saswato Das, 908/582-4824
srdas@lucent.com
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INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS HARDWARE
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