INNOVATION BREAKING THE SOUND BARRIER When does a simple question change an industry? We recount how a disappointing experience inspired an American doctor and his team to tear down the barriers of communication technology to become one of the aviation market’s household names. n 1978, Dr Amar Bose was on a fl ight home after a business trip in Europe. He was looking forward to the fl ight, not Isimply because it was taking him home, but because it would be his fi rst opportunity to use what were then new electronic headphones. Although these types of inexpensive headphones are ubiquitous today and are included with all types of portable audio devices, they were certainly a novelty in the 1970s. Prior to their introduction, airlines used pneumatic tubes to deliver audio to their passengers, similar to how a stethoscope works. The ProFlight Series 2 is Bose’s latest innovation in the aviation sector. As the fl ight took off and Dr Bose put the headphones on and listened to the sound that people want while cancelling, project that would span 11 years before audio, he was sorely disappointed. It is or rejecting, the noise they do not want producing a viable commercial product. true that the headphones off ered better to hear? This seemingly simple question As research continued, the lead en- performance than pneumatic tubes, was the impetus for what would become gineers for the noise cancelling project but the designers apparently had not a long and complex project at Bose that heard about the Rutan Voyager fl ight, considered one important factor; the would deliver ground-breaking technol- which aimed to become the fi rst fl ight loud ambient noise in the aircraft’s ogy that, arguably, changed an industry. around the world without stopping or cabin. Wind noise and the drone of the On that fl ight from Europe, Dr Bose refuelling. It was 1986 and mission doc- aircraft’s engines interfered with the used a napkin to draw out equations tors had predicted that the aircraft’s audio experience, rendering these new that showed how a noise cancelling pilots, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, devices only marginally better than the headphone might work. Upon his return would lose approximately a third of ones they replaced. This caused Dr Bose to the company’s headquarters, he as- their hearing due to the noise exposure to ask himself a question: Why can’t a sembled a team of engineers and shared that was expected inside the Voyager. headphone be developed that delivers the his thoughts. That resulted in a research In an eff ort to reduce weight a deci- sion was made to remove insulation from the Voyager. The acoustic envi- THE BOSE CORPORATION ronment would be extremely loud and • Founded in 1964 by Dr Amar G Bose, a professor of electrical engineering at the reverberant. Initially reluctant to add Massachusetts Institute of Technology. any additional weight, including the • Company mission: think of better solutions, create better products, help people weight of the fairly large and heavy enjoy the things they love. Bose prototypes, Dick Rutan declared the • Bose aviation headsets are certifi ed to FAA TSO and EASA E/TSO standards. Bose prototype headsets mission-critical after experiencing them fi rst-hand. The 14 January 2020 · AV I AT I O N B U S I N E S S www.aviationbusinessme.com INNOVATION introduction of the Aviation Headset X lightweight noise cancelling headset for (AHX) in 1998. The AHX off ered the same pilots fl ying turbine-powered aircraft noise cancelling performance as the pre- and to create a new category in the avia- vious, larger and heavier Bose headsets, tion headset market. The ProFlight is the but did so in a much lighter confi guration industry’s lightest and, arguably, most with signifi cantly lower clamping force. comfortable active noise cancelling com- The key was TriPort Acoustic Structure, munication headset for pilots. The result a new, unique technology developed at of years of research, the ProFlight is a Bose that allowed a smaller earcup to headbanded, in-ear headset that deliv- deliver the noise cancelling performance ers three user selectable modes of noise once thought only possible through large reduction, Bluetooth connectivity and a earcups. The development meant Bose new feature called Tap Control for Talk could design a smaller, lighter and more Through Communication. Tap Control Glenn Burack, director, aviation at Bose. comfortable headset than before. allows the user to easily put either earbud In 2010, Bose introduced the next into was is essentially a hear through Voyager experience confi rmed the team’s and current iteration, the A20 Aviation mode. It is intended for temporary use belief that Bose’s technology had real Headset. The A20 built on the perfor- on the ground or in-fl ight when, for ex- value and delivered real benefi ts to the mance of the AHX, but utilised additional ample, a fl ight attendant or mechanic user. And the work continued. new technologies that were developed enters the fl ight deck and eliminates In 1989, Bose introduced the fi rst com- by Bose engineers. The A20 off ered bet- the need to remove an earbud when mercially available active noise cancel- ter performance in louder environments speaking with someone off intercom. ling headsets. This product was so new over an even broader range of frequen- Other innovations incorporated into the and unique that Dr Bose wanted a clear cies. Instead of one microphone in each ProFlight headset include the ability to panel on the back of each earcup so us- earcup to measure the ambient noise, easily swap the boom microphone from ers could see that there were actually Bose used two microphones, which pro- side to side without a tool. electronics in them. The success of the vided a more accurate measurement. In July 2019, Bose introduced the Series I Aviation Headset encouraged the A proprietary driver (speaker) in each ProFlight Series 2, which builds upon engineers at Bose to continue their devel- earcup was designed specifi cally for the success of the original ProFlight opment of even better products. Alas, in use in aviation headsets and delivered headset but off ers some notable refi ne- 1994, the Series II Aviation Headset was greater audio clarity and reliability than ments. These include a thinner, more introduced. It off ered improved ergo- before. The A20 also off ered Bluetooth fl exible down cable, improved tap con- nomic designs and improved battery life. connectivity for use with portable audio trol functionality, the availability of a Although there was really nothing devices like EFB’s, iPads, portable GPS non-Bluetooth version and a simplifi ed else like the Series II in the market, the systems and others. carry case to make stowing the headset headset team was not satisfi ed to rest The latest innovation from the aviation easier. Glenn Burack, director, aviation, on their earlier successes. The desire to team at Bose came in just 2018 with the military and broadcast headsets at Bose, always do better, deliver greater benefi ts introduction of the ProFlight Aviation notes: “We listened to good feedback from to customers and to lead the way with headset. The ProFlight was designed our customers and incorporated most of innovative technologies resulted in the with two goals in mind: to create a very what they told us into the Series 2. The result is an even better headset.” In 1978, as a result of a disappointing experience, Dr Bose asked why some- thing is the way it is and wondered why it cannot be better. That curiosity and desire to do things better, to not accept the status quo, still permeates the cul- ture at Bose, its bosses say. There is an unwavering desire to deliver real tech- nology that improves the user’s life in some meaningful way. Although Bose just recently introduced the ProFlight Series 2, it refuses to stand still and tells the market to expect much more in the Bose’s HQ in Framingham, Massachusetts, is home to many of its functions and businesses. future. www.aviationbusinessme.com January 2020 · AV I AT I O N B U S I N E S S 15.