WEB DESK: Scientists at Germany’s Chemnitz University of Technology have spent years developing compact and discreet speakers that are quite literally paper thin, and the latest breakthrough improves on this technology for a more immersive experience.
The scientists have come up with a way to print continuous rolls of paper loudspeakers that can be fashioned into circular rings to offer surround sound, which they hope could serve as low-cost infotainment systems for interior spaces.
The research was carried out at the university’s Institute for Print and Media Technology and builds on a 2015 breakthrough called the T-Book. This consisted of an illustrated book with integrated electronics acting as speakers hidden inside the pages that played sounds as the user turned the page.
The pages of the T-Book were created through a semi-automated process that produced one sheet at a time. These sheets featured two layers of conductive organic polymer that functioned as electrodes, while a piezoelectric layer was sandwiched in between to cause vibrations in the material and generate sound as a result.
