Matsushita (usually known as Panasonic), have developed an ultra-thin speaker called the “Sound Slim”. Conventional speakers have a cylindrical arrangement of the voice coil and magnet, whereas the Sound Slim speakers has the voice coil placed horizontally between two permanent magnets, which results in reduction in size of about 3/4 the thickness and 1/2 the width compared to a conventional speaker.
Read the press release on the Matsushita web site.
BAE System’s Advanced Research Centre is developing an active vibration isolator that combines a conventional spring and an electromagnetic shaker. The SmartSpring is targetted for use in Naval vessels where the minimization of the acoustic signature is important to avoid detection.
Read the full article on the web site.
Rion have released a new sound level meter model, the NL-32/NL-22 Type 1 / Type 2 Noise Analyser. Data can be stored on to compact flash cards. Remote download and control option for GSM or landline.
Read the full article on the ANV Measurement Systems website.
I am extremely happy that the number of hits to noiseboard.com has been steadily increasing. The stats page shows that for September there were 908 hits, and in October there were 1999 hits, more than double from the previous month! Thanks for your continued interest.
Piezotech, a company in Indianapolis, has been awarded a NIST grant of $2.5m to develop piezoceramic transducers that will produce ultrasonic sound that can be focused to destroy diseased tissue. The challenge is to design the devices that can fit inside body cavities!
Read the story on the NIST web site.
Midé Technology Corporation are using lasers to cut small grooves into piezo-crystals that provides strain relief and allows the crystal to be formed into unusual shapes. Crystals can be bent into cylindrical or spherical shapes. Cuts in certain directions can cause the crystal to not only bend but also twist
Read the full article on the Missile Defence Agency web site.
Read the description on the Midé web site.
LMS International, a distributor of acoustic and vibration software, has an article about sound quality at Harley Davidson motorcycles.
At first, the notion of sound quality and HD seem at odds, because of their distinctive exhaust roar. However, engineers try to enhance some sounds such as the engine roar, and reduce other noises such as rattles and clicks.
Read the article on the LMS International web site.
Read this interesting article on digital amplifiers. These guys have made a digital amplifier the size of a credit card that can pump out 200W RMS into 8 Ohms, DC to 91kHz. They require virtually no cooling and their efficiency is almost 90%!
LMS International, the distributors of acoustic and vibration simulation software, are holding a series of free seminars about their products, which you can “attend” through the internet.
Read the article on the LMS web site.
Mathworks are shipping MATLAB release 13 – version 6.5.
Read the story on the Mathworks web site.