Nissan introduces acoustic meta-material to make cars quieter and energy efficient

Nissan’s latest offering at the CES 2020 can help make car cabins quieter while also boosting energy efficiency. The new lightweight sound insulation material, known as acoustic meta-material is a combination of a lattice structure and plastic film that controls air vibrations to limit the transmission of wide frequency band noise. The noise could be as high as 500-1200 hertz, for example the road and engine noise.

Currently, most materials used to isolate this frequency band consists mainly of heavy rubber board. This new acoustic meta-material from Nissan weighs one-fourth as much as the conventional boards while providing the same degree of sound isolation.

The simplicity of the structure also makes the product cost competitive. In terms of mass production, it is almost the same as, or possibly better than, current materials. Therefore, the material can also be applied to vehicles where the use of sound insulation materials is currently limited due to cost or weight.

As the global trend increasingly veers towards the EV eco-system, lightweighting vehicles is becoming an important consideration. Making vehicles lighter helps limit the environmental impact of driving by improving energy efficiency. It also enhances enjoyment, as the quiet vehicle cabin makes driving more comfortable.