On the frontiers of sound

8 November 2000 News

Flat-panel speaker technology is changing the way sound is being reproduced and its latest application is likely to be in the exploding mobile telephone market. NXT, a UK company which has pioneered its commercial development, has so far issued more than 170 licences to allow loudspeaker and audiovisual manufacturers to use the technology in their own product ranges.

Early work on the flat-panel concept was carried out by scientists at the UK's Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). Their experiments showed that flat panels, when vibrated, produce a sound pressure wave comparable with that which is achieved through more bulky conventional loudspeaker drive units. NXT developed and patented the technique known as SurfaceSound and licensees now include Acer, Ericsson, Samsung, Siemens, LG Electronics, Philips, NEC, Fujitsu, JBL, Wharfedale and Tannoy.

New horizons are being opened in audio communication, for sound can be produced through flat panels of many different materials, such as glass fibre, plastics and aluminium, giving wide scope for imaginative use - hence the arrival of the 'invisible' glass speaker, the film screen that emits sound and wall paintings that function as loudspeakers. Recently the Integrated Media Systems Centre at the University of Southern California used NXT's system to produce a new kind of projection panel that not only displays the picture but also projects the sound directly from the screen's surface.

A similar development using the same technology has resulted in the world's largest 'talking' projection screen (12 m x 3 m) being installed at the headquarters of the UK government's Department of Trade and Industry in London.

For further information contact NXT, (0944) 20 7343 5050, [email protected] or see www.nxtsound.com

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