Active Noise Control in Headsets by Using a Low-Cost Microcontroller

• Published in: IEEE transactions on industrial electronics (1982) Vol. 58; no. 5; pp. 1936 - 1942
• Main Authors: Chang, Cheng-Yuan, Li, Sheng-Ting
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01-05-2011; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Active control; Active noise control; Active noise reduction; Algorithm design and analysis; Algorithms; Digital signal processors; Feedback; Frequency; Headset; Headsets; Least mean squares algorithm; Low-frequency noise; microcontroller; Microcontrollers; modified feedback active noise control (ANC) algorithm; Noise; Noise cancellation; Noise reduction; Signal processing algorithms
• ISSN: 0278-0046; 1557-9948
• DOI: 10.1109/TIE.2010.2058071

Conventional passive headsets often perform well in reducing high-frequency noise but perform badly to cancel the low-frequency noise. Accordingly, academic researches and companies have developed active noise-reducing headsets to cancel annoying noise at such lower frequencies using expensive digital signal processors (DSPs). This paper develops a modified feedback active noise control (ANC)algorithm to design an active noise-reducing headset with a low-cost microcontroller unit (MCU), offering a cheaper solution to noise reduction than existing audio headsets. The ways to save the computing load of a least mean square (LMS) algorithm by a microcontroller and to compensate for the output limit of speakers in a headset are also provided. Experimental results show that the proposed approach removes disturbing noise very well and outperforms the commercial headset.