The "A" speaker: A solution to noise pollution

22 Mar 2016

Akoustic Arts' "A" speaker is described as the world's most advanced directional speaker because of its ability to create a narrow beam of sound that only the listener can hear. Designed by Paris-based technology company Akoustic Arts, the speaker blasts sound directly into the user's ears from across the room without anyone else hearing it.

The “A” speaker generates ultrasonic waves (high-frequency sound waves) that are then turned into audible sound waves. This is completely different to a normal speaker which produces ordinary sound waves with a single, moving electromagnetic coil and cone.

The loudspeaker releases a primary or ultrasonic beam that propagates in the air and self-demodulates to reconstitute the audible audio signal. The self-demodulation effect allows the speaker to constrain the sound in a specific zone by acting as a virtual array.

“In the end, sound travels out from the “A” speaker in a narrowly focused column, like a flashlight beam,” wrote the speaker’s designers.

The applications for the device are endless. From watching a movie while your partner reads, to listening to music by yourself in a public place, the speaker aims to cut out noise pollution in a variety of spaces.

Source: Design Indaba

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