Crypto · Wired
There's currently no information about pricing and availability, but in the meantime, Škoda has published the full study
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This story was originally published by WIRED Italia.
Key facts
- This research led to the discovery of what was immediately dubbed the “safety gap,” located in the frequency range between 750 and 780 Hz
- ANC is now present in the vast majority of headphones and earphones, including low-cost models
- The unique Škoda DuoBell bicycle bell is a classic example of a completely analog solution to a problem caused by digital innovation
- Škoda has successfully tested the bell on the streets of London, confirming experimental tests with pedestrians wearing headphones
Summary
The unique Škoda DuoBell bicycle bell is a classic example of a completely analog solution to a problem caused by digital innovation. People with headphones using active noise cancellation are often left in a perceptive bubble where they fail to react—or simply react too late—to imminent dangers on streets and sidewalks they can't hear coming. To design the DuoBell's ANC-defeating capabilities, researchers from the Czech brand—which coincidentally enough made its commercial debut in 1895 with a bicycle —worked closely with researchers at the University of Salford in the United Kingdom to verify whether there was a way to overcome active noise cancellation. This research led to the discovery of what was immediately dubbed the “safety gap,” located in the frequency range between 750 and 780 Hz. The structure of the bell is completely mechanical, but it also includes an additional resonator tuned to a higher frequency to improve the bell's overall efficiency.