The History of Active Noise Control
Active noise control was invented by Paul Lueg in Germany in 1932. He registered a patent in 1934 with uses including “suppression of noise in ducts, cancellation by interference at points in space, and creation of protected "zones of quiet."” (Cunefare) The ideas in the patents worked in theory but they lacked the equipment in detection, processing, and sound generation to make and products commercially viable.
In
the
1950s
Harry
Olsen
started
experimenting
in
making
silent
areas
using active noise
control systems to some success. Also in the 1950s Active noise
control was introduced to headphones. The first public civilian use
of noise controlling headphones was in 1986 when Jeanna Yeager and
Dick Rutan had a flight around the world.
More
recently,
active
noise
control
is
commonly
included
in
many
commercial
applications. Devices featuring active noise
control are commonly included in aviation. The cock pit often
features noise canceling technology and noise canceling headphones are
common for the air traffic controllers. Cars also use active
noise control to reduce the noise from tires, wind, and the engine for
the interiors. High quality headphones are available commercially
from many popular headphone brands.