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ITOKI CORPORATION (Head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Koji Minato; hereinafter "ITOKI") has begun selling the clear sound-absorbing panel "iwasemi™ HX-α," which takes advantage of the flexibility of the material, in collaboration with Pixie Dust Technologies Inc. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku; Representative Directors: Yoichi Ochiai and Taiichiro Murakami; hereinafter "PxDT"), a company that promotes digital innovation in the fields of hearing and touch.

This product is a transparent sound-absorbing panel that can be attached to glass, created by combining PxDT's acoustic metamaterial technology with Itoki's design technology. It is equipped with a sound-absorbing structure designed specifically for the 500-1000Hz frequency band, which is often included in human voices in offices where web conferencing has become commonplace.

With the rapid expansion of remote work and the increase in in-office web conferencing due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19), we are changing the way our facilities are designed to gather multiple people in a large room. We are now shifting to a narrow system for use by a small number of people. In response to these changes in the times, ITOKI has been pursuing a combination of ``sound blocking'' and ``sound absorption'' to improve the comfort of the sound environment in small spaces.
Therefore, this time, by combining the knowledge and technology of Pixie Dust Technologies, which has the unique know-how of controlling the sound environment through technology, and Itoki's knowledge of "space," "environment," and "place creation" in offices. We decided to embark on joint development to explore the possibility of solving the problem of reverberant sound that haunts spaces surrounded by glass.

"iwasemi™ HX-α" has the following features.

iwasemi™ HX-α has been installed in some conference rooms at the Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd. headquarters.
Improving the acoustic environment in a conference room is generally done by installing sound absorbing materials made of glass wool or other materials to suppress reverberations, but in recent years the number of glass-enclosed conference rooms has increased. Installing sound equipment sometimes impairs the design, which has the disadvantage of reducing the degree of freedom in designing the office. Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd. decided to introduce iwasemi™ HX-α with the aim of improving the acoustic environment of conference rooms while maintaining the design of glass-walled conference rooms. With this installation, the reverberation time has been shortened by approximately 40% without compromising the design, making the space more conducive to conversation.

We were worried about not having an effective way to suppress the reverberations in a glass conference room, but by installing iwasemi™ HX-α, we were able to suppress the reverberations to a level that was clearly noticeable. The transparent body matches the design of glass conference rooms.

The reverberation time of the frequency band (500-1000Hz) that is often included in human speech was about 1.0 seconds on average before the installation, but after the installation it changed to about 0.6 seconds, and the reverberation time was about 40 seconds. % shorter.

If you are considering purchasing, please contact us from the iwasemi™ HX-α official website.

This product will be on display at ITOKI TOKYO XORK from the end of July.
If you would like to experience an office room equipped with iwasemi™ HX-α, please contact us from the website below.

iwasemi™ is a sound absorbing material developed by applying PxDT's unique sound absorption design technology to acoustic metamaterial technology. iwasemi™ is used in various fields of society, including construction, building materials, fixtures, railways, and automobiles. iwasemi™ sound absorbing material has the following three characteristics.

1. Flexibility of absorption frequency characteristics
2. A combination of high sound absorption and thinness
3. High degree of freedom in material selection and processing

Under the vision statement of Digitally Rebalanced., PxDT has developed iwasemi™, an innovative sound absorbing material using advanced computer-based sound absorption design technology, in order to solve the noise problem. PxDT will continue to add to the basic structure of iwasemi™, expand its standard products, and develop customized products.By responding to noise issues and needs in a wide range of fields, we hope to solve noise problems in society as a whole. We will continue to promote this.