WHAT IS CALYPSO?
Calypso is a solution to the problem of loud noises in apartments of New York City. It consists of a panel with an array of acoustic metamaterials that is meant to attach over your window to block out sound at specific frequencies while still letting air and light in. It works mechanically by Fano-like interference, a phenomenon that manipulates the phase of sound waves to force destructive interference.
THE PROBLEM OF SIRENS IN NYC
Every time you open your window at home, to allow some fresh air and light in, you’re greeted with piercing sounds of the city like ambulance sirens. What if you could get the same results without the annoying noise?
Calypso is an attachment to your existing window that works to block out sound, while still letting air and light in. You place the panel with the array of metamaterials on your window and unwanted noises, like sirens, stay outside of your apartment.
Above you can see our prototype of an acoustic metamaterial cell that cancels the noise of HiLo sirens. The left and central images are of our 3D model, the right image is of our 3D printed working prototype. This prototype consists of a "donut" with helical channels that run through it. Destructive interference occurs between the sound waves traveling through the helical channels and the ones traveling through the centre of the donut, causing a noticeable noise reduction at our target frequencies. Below is a demo of our working prototype.
OUR SOLUTION
More details on how the cell works are explained in our TECHNOLOGY page.