Audio products have also seen a lot of development in recent years. Now researchers at MIT have developed a paper-thin loudspeaker. It can be attached to any surface to make it an active audio source.
The paper-thin loudspeaker tech uses tiny domes on a thin layer of piezoelectric material. Dome vibrateS individually and are placed only a few hair widths across. The domes are 15 microns in height and can move only up and down about half a micron when they vibrate. These domes vibrate together to produce audible sounds. To protect them from mounting surfaces, domes are also surrounded by spacer layers on the top and bottom.
It is also energy efficient and only requires about 100 milliwatts of power per square meter of speaker area. A speaker that can produce a similar sound consumes more than 1 watt.
This tech can be used to provide active noise cancellation in clamorous environments, three-dimensional audio in a theater, and on smart devices.
When this tech becomes available for commercial use, it will surely benefit smart devices such as smartphones and laptops. Traditional speakers take too much space. So, this new speaker can improve the audio and reduce power consumption at the same time.
Watch the demo video to see how it works.
