The Sounds of Silence

Have you ever wondered how military personnel, whether they're in a helicopter, jet or tank, can hear orders over the roar of the engines? Have you ever been bothered by the noise of city traffic? Does the thought of having to cut the grass seem more like a chore to avoid just because of the sound of the lawn mower? Does the effect of being in a noisy environment seem to drain most of your energy? Have you ever experienced jet lag from being on a long jetliner flight? The solution to these and other noise related problems were answered by Kyle Sullivan, a representative of BOSE Corporation. Kyle was at New England Tech on December 5 to explain and demonstrate the amazing BOSE QuietComfort Acoustic Noise Canceling Headset.

Kyle, a recent graduate of NEIT's Associate degree in Electronics Technology and Bachelor's Degree Electronics Engineering Technology programs, is presently employed in the Research and Development Department of the BOSE Corporation. Prior to his December visit, Kyle saw Michael Recorvitz, Associate Professor of Electronics Technology and one of Kyle's NEIT instructors, at a social event where Kyle was explaining to Michael the concept of the project he was working on at BOSE. Kyle also explained that the electronic training he received during both degree programs could be applied directly to the functions and duties of his job. Kyle said, "The Associate Degree program taught me the function of devices and how circuits operated, but it was in the Bachelor's Degree program that I had my best educational experience, which was to implement this knowledge into my Senior Design Project. (Kyle designed and built a scaled model of an automated lane guidance system for automobiles.) The senior project was both challenging and fun."

The concept of the project Kyle was working on at BOSE fascinated Michael and he decided to have Kyle present a seminar based on the BOSE headset. Plans were set in motion and the seminar was presented to approximately 55 students. Kyle gave an exhilarating and vibrant one-hour PowerPoint presentation that culminated in the demonstration of the BOSE headset product. Kyle was able to take the seminar attendees from the basic concepts of noise and the problems involved in noise cancellation to explaining the circuit functions and devices that BOSE incorporates into their headset products, without giving away any company secrets. In order to present the demonstration, Kyle, with the help of NEIT's Manager of Audio Visual Services, Gary Smith, had the theater wired so each seminar attendee would have a set of commercially available headphones and a set of the BOSE Noise Cancellation Headsets. Kyle then showed a selection from the movie "APOLLO 13" while at the same time producing 85dB SPL of jet engine noise, similar to what one would hear while riding in a 767 aircraft. The attendees were then asked to try listening to the movie and to compare the standard headphones to the BOSE Noise Canceling Headset. The noise canceling effect of the BOSE headsets was no less than amazing!

The Electronics Technology Department would like to thank the BOSE Corporation and Kyle for a very fascinating seminar.

Michael Recorvitz (l) and Kyle Sullivan pose with a Bose headset and Bose military helmet