ONERA and Skyted have signed a third licence agreement for the exploitation of an ONERA patent resulting from scientific research into aeronautical materials, enabling Skyted to explore a new field of innovation: acoustic comfort in workspaces. 

Synergy between materials science and psychoacoustics

With its unique expertise in acoustic absorber metamaterials for aeronautics, ONERA brings its cutting-edge expertise in passive noise reduction to the table. Skyted, for its part, is leveraging its expertise in psychoacoustics and confidential voice capture, already at the heart of its Skyted 320 headset, to develop new solutions tailored to professional environments. 

With scientific support from ONERA, Skyted is now reinventing the office chair by incorporating acoustic metamaterials into a headrest designed to naturally reduce ambient noise without the use of active sound processing technologies.

A world first unveiled at CES 2026

This new application, developed through a collaboration between Skyted and ONERA, will take shape with the first acoustic seat prototype presented at CES in Las Vegas in January 2026.

This innovation is part of a shared vision: to reduce noise pollution in offices while promoting French research internationally. Around the world, more than 300 million employees work daily in open-plan offices where noise levels exceed recommended standards. 

With the gradual return to the office and the decline in teleworking, employees are expressing a growing need for comprehensive solutions to restore comfort and concentration. 

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Stéphane Hersen, CEO of Skyted, comments: “With the return to the office, open-plan spaces are becoming the norm again. Employees are now looking for a complete acoustic experience: headphones and a chair designed to preserve confidentiality and reduce ambient noise. Thanks to ONERA, we have found the ideal partner to combine scientific performance and well-being at work.”

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Philippe Castaing, Director of Commercialisation and Intellectual Property at ONERA, adds: "The excellence of our research for the Aerospace and Defence sector is once again benefiting Skyted, a dynamic Toulouse-based start-up, for an innovative application: noise reduction. As a world-class French aerospace research centre, technology transfer and support for French start-ups are naturally part of ONERA's mission."