Loud and clear

A new-style ultra-thin, lightweight loudspeaker that is flexible and inexpensive to manufacture has been developed by Warwick University spin-out

.

At less than 0.5mm deep, the developer claims it is thinner than any other flat panel speaker currently available, and can be made in any shape or size — from a few millimetres to several metres.

The speaker works on electrostatic principles, which operate by interacting with charges of static electricity to create the movement necessary to produce soundwaves.

WAT's speaker differs from other 'flat panels' currently available because it does not rely on a conventional moving coil device or piezoelectric element.

Mark Thompson, WAT's marketing director, said the only external excitation device used by the speaker is its amplifier, which is used to adapt audio signals to make them suitable for broadcast.

Electrostatic speakers are not a new technology, but Thompson said they have always been expensive and heavy.

'What we have is an adaptation of that technology, which reduces drastically the size, weight and thickness of the speaker but doesn't entirely compromise the performance,' he said.