Every decade, speakers get a little more immersive, thanks to advances in sound processing technologies and cheaper access to surround sound components. Now, with a new technology, it is possible to turn all the walls in the house into a speaker.
It is stated that the new technology will be available in the coming years. MIT researchers have announced that the new speaker technology can be very thin and can be used by sticking it to surfaces, meaning that your wallpapers can be replaced by speakers. In addition, it is underlined that this new speaker technology will not be very expensive thanks to the technique used in its production.
Speakers use polyvinylidene fluoride film (PVDF), which has piezoelectric properties and has been used for loudspeakers since at least the 70’s. MIT’s primary innovation here seems to be to strengthen the material by reshaping it. A layer of perforated PET plastic is applied to the PVDF layer, which when heat treated in a vacuum causes the PVDF to become trapped in the holes, forming PVDF in thousands of tiny domed structures. It’s these domes, not the whole layer of PVDF material that vibrates in the speaker. Meanwhile, the PET layers surrounding the domes provide the necessary structural integrity so that the material can be bent and adhered to surfaces.
Manufacturers can then resize and rearrange the domes to alter the acoustic properties of the material and use it in any application. The domes could be used to focus sound at specific locations in a room, for use in ultrasound imaging, or even to “provide a new way to mix chemicals.”
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