Cardo Opens a New Sound Lab to Boost Product Development

Cardo is upping its game when it comes to product development. The motorsports communications system manufacturer has opened its first full-scale R&D facility.

Located in Straubing, Germany, Cado Sound Labs gives the company a place of its own where it can hone its audio systems. Cardo says the new Sound Labs will concentrate on creating new solutions in acoustics, speech processing, and audio delivery.

The labs feature a whole slew of state-of-the-art technology and testing environments. Among them are an anechoic chamber, a European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) room, a rapid prototyping lab, two kinds of automotive labs, and—of course—office space.

Filling that office space is also a freshly hired team of veteran scientists. Together, they bring to Cardo a total of 150 years of consumer and automotive audio experience. These great minds should definitely know a thing or two about motorbike communications, as well.

“I personally started working in the audio space in 1991 and since then have seen a lot of change in the industry. We are very happy to join the Cardo Systems team,” said Gerhard Pfaffinger, director of audio engineering and the site lead for the Straubing labs.

“The extensive experience and wealth of knowledge acquired through the hiring of the team at Straubing is a pivotal milestone for Cardo and marks a huge step in our R&D strategy with the opening of the Cardo Sound Labs,” added Anat Gafni, Cardo’s vice president of human resources.

But it’s not just Cardo users that may benefit from the cutting-edge Sound Labs. Cardo recently announced that it has joined other comms manufacturers—including Midland and Uclear—in establishing the Open Bluetooth Intercom (OBI) standard.

This universal standard is set to make the comms systems from all partnering manufacturers mutually compatible. Perhaps Cardo will kindly share some of the innovations its scientists are sure to develop with its OBI partners.