Engineers unveil speakers that are thin as foil

Researchers at Warwick University in the UK have created speakers that are less than a quarter of a millimetre thick and can be hung on walls like pictures to make announcements in places such as passenger terminals.

Researchers at Warwick University in the UK have created speakers that are less than a quarter of a millimetre thick and can be hung on walls like pictures to make announcements in places such as passenger terminals.

The engineers say the Flat Flexible Loudspeaker (FFL) is so slim and flexible that it could even be concealed

Crisp: The Flat Flexible Loudspeaker is only 0.25mm thick

inside ceiling tiles or car interiors, conceivably leading to talking roofs, wallpaper and car seats.

FFL actually started life as a sheet of tin foil.

According to the engineers, the speakers are ideal for public spaces because they deliver planar directional sound waves, which project further than sound from conventional speakers.

The speakers work by converting an electric signal into sound. Usually, the signal is used to generate a varying magnetic field, which in turn vibrates a mechanical cone, so producing the sound.

Warwick Audio Technolo-gies expects to launch its first commercial product later this year.