Performance evaluation of an active headrest considering non-stationary broadband disturbances and head movement

An application of active noise control (ANC) is the active headrest, using actuators (loadspeakers), sensors (microphones), and a controller to create a local zone of quiet around the occupants head. In this paper, the attenuation performance of various ANC-algorithms for active headrests known from literature is evaluated considering non-stationary broadband disturbances and head movement. Numerical studies are performed to determine the optimal plant models and parameters for the ANC-algorithms. Based on the findings of the numerical studies, several real-time experiments are conducted with and without head tracking examining the distribution of the 10 dB zone of quiet and the attenuation at the occupants ear using either a head mounted microphone technique, the remote microphone technique, the virtual microphone technique, or the virtual microphone control method. It is found that none of the algorithms using a virtual sensing technique can produce a 10 dB zone of quiet for all considered non-stationary broadband disturbances and head movement. For the algorithm using a head mounted microphone, it is possible to form a 10 dB zone of quiet, but placing a microphone at the ear is not feasible in most situations.