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Effect of tracking resolution and loudspeaker arrangements on a headtracked active headrest noise control system

Effect of tracking resolution and loudspeaker arrangements on a headtracked active headrest noise control system
Effect of tracking resolution and loudspeaker arrangements on a headtracked active headrest noise control system
Head-tracking techniques offer the potential of improving the performance of local active noise control headrest systems during head movements. However, the effectiveness of head-tracked local active noise control can be limited by various aspects of the headrest design. This paper presents a thorough investigation into how head-tracking accuracy influences the control performance for both translational and yaw rotational head movements and, in addition, how this is affected by the geometry of the headrest control loudspeakers. The presented results highlight a notable difference in the attenuation performance achieved at the two ears when modelling errors exist between the physical plant response and the plant model utilised by the controller, which arise due to the accuracy of the head-tracking. It is demonstrated that the mismatch in performance between the two ears is influenced by the initial head position, the direction of head movements, and the layout of the headrest control loudspeakers. In the presence of plant modelling errors, the presented results reveal a trade-off between the balance in attenuation performance at the two ears and the spatial extent over which effective control is achieved. The presented insights can be utilised to help design local active noise control headrest systems with head-tracking that are well-suited to their intended application.
Active headrest, Active noise control, Head-tracking
0888-3270
Lai, Chung Kwan
564519dc-b054-427f-9256-a454f796b1a9
Cheer, Jordan
8e452f50-4c7d-4d4e-913a-34015e99b9dc
Lai, Chung Kwan
564519dc-b054-427f-9256-a454f796b1a9
Cheer, Jordan
8e452f50-4c7d-4d4e-913a-34015e99b9dc

Lai, Chung Kwan and Cheer, Jordan (2026) Effect of tracking resolution and loudspeaker arrangements on a headtracked active headrest noise control system. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, 250, [114168]. (doi:10.1016/j.ymssp.2026.114168).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Head-tracking techniques offer the potential of improving the performance of local active noise control headrest systems during head movements. However, the effectiveness of head-tracked local active noise control can be limited by various aspects of the headrest design. This paper presents a thorough investigation into how head-tracking accuracy influences the control performance for both translational and yaw rotational head movements and, in addition, how this is affected by the geometry of the headrest control loudspeakers. The presented results highlight a notable difference in the attenuation performance achieved at the two ears when modelling errors exist between the physical plant response and the plant model utilised by the controller, which arise due to the accuracy of the head-tracking. It is demonstrated that the mismatch in performance between the two ears is influenced by the initial head position, the direction of head movements, and the layout of the headrest control loudspeakers. In the presence of plant modelling errors, the presented results reveal a trade-off between the balance in attenuation performance at the two ears and the spatial extent over which effective control is achieved. The presented insights can be utilised to help design local active noise control headrest systems with head-tracking that are well-suited to their intended application.

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Accepted/In Press date: 15 March 2026
Published date: 15 April 2026
Additional Information: Publisher Copyright: © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: Active headrest, Active noise control, Head-tracking

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 510803
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/510803
ISSN: 0888-3270
PURE UUID: 8d8ff6ac-f0c7-4f37-adb9-ecf59b9ae238
ORCID for Chung Kwan Lai: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3066-4089
ORCID for Jordan Cheer: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0552-5506

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 22 Apr 2026 16:41
Last modified: 23 Apr 2026 02:15

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Contributors

Author: Chung Kwan Lai ORCID iD
Author: Jordan Cheer ORCID iD

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