Loud and clear

New flat speaker design could make for clearer public announcements.

A team of engineers from Warwick University has pioneered a new design of loudspeaker. Measuring less than 025mm thick, its inventors believe its unique form could make for clearer, crisper messaging.

Thin, lightweight and inexpensive enough to be hung like pictures or ceiling tiles, the units deliver ‘planar directional sound waves’ which, the inventors claim, project better than traditional speakers.

Speaking about the Flat, Flexible Loudspeaker (FFL), Steve Couchman, CEO of Warwick Audio Technologies, said: "We believe this is a truly innovative technology. Its size and flexibility means it can be used in all sorts of areas where space is at a premium.  Audio visual companies are investigating its use as point of sale posters for smart audio messaging and car manufacturers are particularly interested in it for its light weight and thinness, which means it can be incorporated into the headlining of cars, rather than lower down in the interior."

Whereas traditional speakers work by converting an electric signal into sound via a magnetic field and a mechanical cone, the new system works by the manipulation of a flexible laminate. As the entire diaphragm radiates in phase, the resultant sound is more accurate and directable.

The FFL was first developed by University of Warwick’s Dr Duncan Billson and Professor David Hutchins

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