TransparentSpeaker
Latest
People People AB's Transparent Speaker goes live on Kickstarter, we clearly go hands-on
Chances are you've likely seen the Transparent Speaker by Stockholm's People People AB. The small startup of Nokia defectors has been making heavy use of guerilla marketing to gain exposure for its see-thru noiseybox since as far back as last year's CES. All in all, it's worked -- most recently, the speaker got a cameo in Will.i.am and Britney Spears' "Scream and Shout" music video. Despite all the exposure, however, you'd be hard-pressed to find one if you'd been interested in spending your hard-earned coin on the rig. Today that's set to change, as the people at People People have taken to Kickstarter in hopes of raising $120,000 to make the system a production reality. You'll find more details by joining us past the break.
Transparent graphene speakers printed with inkjets, lo-fi musical windows are on their way
Add that magical material known as graphene to the list of things you can make with inkjet printers alongside OLEDs, solar panels, and light-bending metamaterials. Scientists at the Seoul National University used printers and a technique known as vapor deposition to leave a thin film of the graphite-based conductor on sheets of PVDF (poly vinylidene fluoride). By sandwiching the the PVDF between graphene electrodes and applying a current from a sound source researchers were able to create a flat and transparent loudspeaker that could be integrated into windows or screens. Don't expect this low-power sound source to replace your hi-fi though -- since it relies on the distortion-prone piezoelectric effect, it probably won't sound much better than the earpiece on your cellphone.
