When it came to emerging tech, this year's Computex did not dissapoint - you can read an overview of the 5 biggest trends here. One of the more interesting prototypes that caught our eye was this noise-cancelling NF-F12 fan from quiet cooling specialists Noctua.
Developed in conjunction with tech developer RotoSub, the new PC fan range comes with integrated Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). As its name implies, the new ANC fan prototype uses sound waves to reduce noise by means of an effect called phase cancellation or destructive interference.
Dubbed 'RotoSub Active Noise Control R-ANC', the new system allows a fan to emit a sound signal that cancels out the original sound of the fan - the end result is a greatly reduced noise emission.
"RotoSub's patented ANC technology makes it possible to achieve performance/noise ratios that cannot be accomplished by means of conventional aerodynamic or acoustic optimisations," explains the Noctua website. "The licensing agreement with RotoSub will allow Noctua to strengthen its position as a forerunner in quiet PC cooling."
According to RotoSub, a Noctua NF-F12 fan equipped with R-ANC noise-cancellation technology will be capable of 80% more airflow and 120% higher static pressure at the same noise level as a regular Noctua NF-F12 fan. Those are pretty impressive statistics.
At present, the RotoSub ANC fan concept is still in the prototype stage.
"There is still a lot of fine-tuning to be done, both in structural design and as far as the algorithms that compute the anti-noise signal are concerned, but we're working hard to achieve this goal within the next 12 to 18 months," said Mårten Oretorp, RotoSub CTO in a statement.
