Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

Flat Flexible Loudspeakers From Warwick Audio

Flat Flexible Loudspeakers (FFL) are being developed for the market by Warwick Audio., a UK-based company using technology developed at The University of Warwick, School of Engineering.


(Flat Flexible Loudspeaker)

Ultra-thin and lightweight speakers lend themselves to easy and convenient mounting positions on walls and ceilings. The speakers are easy to conceal or if you prefer they can be printed with any image, neatly featuring the speaker in your room. Using FFL means audio is simple to install and secure from unauthorised removal.

Sound pressure levels are of 80-105dB are achieved. Actual SPL depends upon the area of the laminate selected. Laminates are offered in a variety of areas between the standard European paper sizes A5 through to A3.


(FFL speaker membrane)

All speakers operate on the principle an electrical signal is converted into sound using a mechanical device. A conventional cone speaker takes the electrical signal, which in turn generates a varying magnetic field, in turn vibrating a mechanical cone, so producing the sound. All these energy conversions lead to a very inefficient speaker.

FFL technology produces sound using a far more efficient process. We directly apply the electrical signal to the laminate, which vibrates in time with the electrical signal. The laminate is composed of two conducting surfaces, called Membranes, separated by an insulating layer. Hence an electric field (rather than a magnetic field) forms over the laminate.

This technology may bring us a variety of (until now) science-fictional ideas. I always liked talking tape from Bruce Sterling's 1998 novel Distraction. Sterling wrote about how it could help construct a building:

Oscar peeled a strip of tape from a yellow spool and wrapped the tape around a cinder block. He swept a hand-scanner over the block, activating the tape...

"I'm a cornerstone," the cinder block announced.

"Good for you," Oscar grunted.
(Read more about talking tape)

In his 1982 novel Diplomat at Arms, Keith Laumer refers to a command microphone and loudspeaker that is implemented in a uniform cape.

In his 1961 short story do-it-yourself, Harlan Ellison wrote about a talking pamphlet:

"Dear Purchaser, you are perplexing me," the pamphlet cried. "If you wish to carry forward smartly to the objective for which this Kit was designed, please do not strain my conversational and analytical faculties."
(Read more about Ellison's talking pamphlet)

Philip K. Dick would need something like FFL to implement his battery-powered 3D comic book (The Zap Gun, 1965) as well as the memo-voice (War Game, 1959):

"Good morning," the first memo said in its tinny, chattery voice, as Wiseman ran his thumb along the line of pasted tape.

I'd also like to point out that Dick is correct in saying that the FFL strip will have a "tinny" sound - where will you get base response from a device this thin?

Find out more at the Warwick Audio company website; via Dvice.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/2/2009)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 4 )

Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")

Wearable Energy Harvester
'... he had tightened the chest to gain maximum pumping action from the motion of breathing.' Frank Herbert, 1965.

Video Manicuring ala Schismatrix
'The program raced up the screen one scan line at a time' - Bruce Sterling

Tailsitter Drone Aircraft For SAR
'...it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair.' - RH Roman, 1929.

Iron Beam Laser Under Development To Shoot Down Missiles With Lasers
'It was sweeping round swiftly and steadily, this flaming death, this invisible, inevitable sword of heat.' - HG Wells, 1989.

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Wearable Energy Harvester
'... he had tightened the chest to gain maximum pumping action from the motion of breathing.'

Drones Participate In Buddhist Rites
'...a prayer wheel swung into view and began spinning at a furious pace.'

Anna Indiana AI Singer-Songwriter
'She is a personality-construct, a congeries of software agents'

Video Manicuring ala Schismatrix
'The program raced up the screen one scan line at a time'

'Feel the AGI' OpenAI Leader Now OpenWorship
'And are all the people willing to be governed by a machine?'

NASA Tests Prototype Europa Lander
Why have legs if they don't walk around?

Tailsitter Drone Aircraft For SAR
'...it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair.'

Forward CarePod The AI Doctor's Office
'It's an old model,' Rawlins said. 'I'm not sure what to do.'

Mika The Robot-Boss
'the robot-boss was busy at the lip of the new lode instructing and egging the men on to greater speed...'

Yamaha Motoroid 2 No Handlebars Self-Balancing Motorcycle
'He rode the bike with an intense lack of physical grace...'

San Francisco Autobus
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street...'

Should Your Car Decide If You Can Drive?
'Okay. Maybe the car was right...'

Lucid Dreams On Demand From Prophetic and Card79
'the peeper did not operate by virtue of its machinery alone, but by the reaction of the brain and the body of its user...'

Honda UNI-ONE Hands-Free Wheelchair Follows 100 Year-Old Design
'Noiselessly, on rubber-tired wheels, they journeyed...'

EBS-260 Handjet Free Hand Dot Matrix Printer
'McKie held a chalf-memory stick over the dusted surface.'

Sensitive, Soft Robot Skin
'...tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.