An Indian researcher has fabricated paper honeycomb and stronger polymer honeycomb structure as sound-absorbing panels that dissipate acoustic energy to low-frequency ranges. The technology can be used in building acoustics and also as environmental noise control solution.

As air traffic is projected to increase dramatically over the next decade, reducing noise pollution becomes an even more necessary and demanding challenge. Decades of research have been dedicated to reducing the noise of an aircraft's engine but have tended to neglect the noise caused by the airframe during landing.

A pioneering material that gives unprecedented control on sound and noise is to be trialed in hospitals and other noisy locations such as beside motorways. The technology allows scientists to turn plastic sheets into powerful noise-cancelling panels with the same noise-reduction effect of as two inches of plywood but weighing four to six times less.