TravisDeyle.com

Noise cancelling headphones aren't exactly a new technology; they were first developed/deployed in the 1980's by Dr. Bose of MIT (yes, the one that owns the audio company). The operation principle is really quite simple -- use constructive and destructive interference to basically turn all external noises into silence. This is the same thing that happens to all waves, whether electromagnetic, fluidic, or in this case acoustic. If you're really curious, you can learn more about it from HowStuffWorks.

Obviously, active noise cancellation requires some additional power, but in my opinion, it's well worth it! I'm sick of riding on airplanes without them! I thought about making my own... I've seen homebrew projects on them before (they even talked about doing this as a semester project during my undergrad); however, I ultimately decided (no time for fooling around anymore) to just pony up the dough and buy some.

Anyway, when it comes to noise cancelling headphones, there are a whole bunch of commercially available models (just look at Amazon). However, most are in that bulky, "cover-the-ear" form factor. Luckily, JVC announced an earbud version in the HA-NCX77. Needless to say, I bought a pair of these. I'll be sure to let everyone know how they work out -- I'll be travelling on a plane in about 2 weeks.

NOTE:  This post originally appeared on Hizook.com, which has been transformed into a robotics-centric website.  To preserve all of my original posts, I've transferred the content to my new homepage TravisDeyle.com.  I also encourage you to scope out the new Hizook!