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Entries » Blog » Double the Microphones, Half the Sugar: Redesign Keeps RSMs Cleaner, Sound Clearer

Double the Microphones, Half the Sugar: Redesign Keeps RSMs Cleaner, Sound Clearer

Created Nov 08 2013, 6:00 AM by Motorola Solutions

During the development of a new product, we frequently visit future users to immerse ourselves for a day in a worker’s life. This helps us better understand their needs – we can hear from them about problems they’ve identified, but then by watching closely, we can sometimes pick up on problems they might not be able to see. High-noise facilities are among the most challenging environments for two-way communications equipment. A sugar mill is no exception.

In August, a sugar processing mill in the southern United States can easily reach 100 degrees. There is no reprieve from the heat and humidity inside the mill where it is equally as hot as outside. The extreme humidity leads to condensation on the machinery and radio equipment, making them susceptible to the sugar particles floating in the air. By the end of a shift, everything is coated in sticky, sweet sugar particles — the machines, the radio equipment, even the workers themselves. These fine particles are particularly adept at finding their way into remote speaker microphone speaker grills as the workers wear them, which significantly impacts speaker performance.

Within a few days, the audio performance on the RSMs is so bad that workers are outside hosing down their microphones. Traditional noise-canceling RSMs are designed with felt behind the speaker, which causes the water to be absorbed like a sponge. Not designed for that kind of abuse, the microphones fail within a few months. If a plant has 100 workers and has to replace 50 percent of their RSMs every two to three months, it can cost up to $30,000 every year in just RSM replacements.

In addition to the challenges with humidity and sugar debris, the workers struggle to communicate in a very loud environment. Traditional noise-canceling RSMs are designed with a directional microphone. This means that workers must remove the microphone from their shoulder and hold it directly in front of their mouth in order to be heard clearly. Busy operating heavy machinery, this is nearly impossible for them. This results in countless requests to repeat messages, impacting productivity. Again, this hurts the sugar mill’s bottom line.

We have designed an RSM that addresses three common issues found in difficult manufacturing environments to help overcome these challenges:

  • The dual-microphone design enables clear transmission in loud environments (see details on how dual-microphone technology works below), resulting in reduced requests to repeat the message.
  • Additionally, the dual-microphone design allows users to turn their heads toward the microphone clipped to their lapel or front pocket instead of having to remove the microphone from their shoulder. They transmit clearly while continuing to work.
  • Lastly, the submersible housing is specially designed to allow users to wash the microphone head with a soft brush, water and soap, removing any debris and fine particles collected on the microphone grill. This increases the longevity of the product, helping the mill save money.

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(Images courtesy of Motorola Solutions, Inc.)

How does Dual Microphone Technology Work?

We have placed two microphones side by side on the front housing of the Remote Speaker Microphone (RSM). Using “microphone beam forming technology,” one microphone can focus on the individual speaking while other microphone captures ambient noise sources. As long as the voice has a higher signal to noise ratio, the ambient noise will be virtually eliminated in the radio transmission.

Advantage: Dual microphones allow the DSP to process the microphone signals, obtaining the best voice audio quality while suppressing the interfering background noise outside the audio beam. This is especially beneficial for workers that are in loud environments, like the workers we visited at the sugar mill. There are many other customers that can benefit from dual microphone technology, including but not limited to food processing or manufacturing plants, airports, as well as large venues such as concert and sporting events.

We continue to speak to our customers to better understand the challenges they face so we can best meet their needs. From a sugar mill today to an oil refinery or any enterprise tomorrow, our mission is to understand their environment and work together to solve their problems.

Learn more about the Industrial Noise-canceling RSM here, or watch this video to see it in action.

Nick Candotti is Director of Global Accessory & Energy Business at Motorola Solutions.

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