Robohub.org
 

World’s first all rubber speaker made from artificial muscles is thin, soft and bassy

by
18 October 2012



share this:
12-0184-r

Tokai Rubber Industries has developed the world’s first all-rubber speaker. This speaker utilizes Smart Rubber, which conducts electricity and can freely expand or contract, to generate sound.

Previously, the company developed flexible, all-rubber touch sensors using Smart Rubber. This all-rubber speaker arose from the company’s new line of development: materials for artificial muscles.

Q. “Until now, thin speakers have been piezoelectric and film types, as used in smartphones and tablets. But those don’t produce low-frequency sounds. By contrast, the rubber speaker we’ve developed does produce low frequencies. It’s the first speaker of this kind in the world.”

This speaker consists of a piece of non-conductive rubber sandwiched between two rubber electrodes. When a voltage is applied between the rubber electrodes, static electricity is generated, causing the sheet to expand. Sound waves are generated by the repeated expansion and restorative force of the rubber sheet.

“Of course, technology is needed to make rubber conduct electricity. What our technology does is give the rubber a uniform surface charge. Another thing needed is insulating rubber between the pieces of conductive rubber. Each type of rubber has to be flexible, and the insulating rubber mustn’t change its resistance when it expands. That’s a key technology in this speaker.”

“Wearing headphones is a bit of a hassle, so we’d like to use the flexibility of this speaker to build it into chairs and the like. That way, people could enjoy audio in open settings.”

“Currently, we don’t have a specific product roadmap. We’d like to think about needs and applications together with potential customers, including those at CEATEC. Then, we’d like to turn this speaker into a commercial product.”



tags: ,


DigInfo TV is a Tokyo-based online video news platform dedicated to producing original coverage of cutting edge technology, research and products from Japan.
DigInfo TV is a Tokyo-based online video news platform dedicated to producing original coverage of cutting edge technology, research and products from Japan.





Related posts :



Robot Talk Episode 43 – Maitreyee Wairagkar

In this week's episode of the Robot Talk podcast, host Claire Asher chatted to Maitreyee Wairagkar from the University of California all about neurotechnology, artificial intelligence, and assistive robotics.
31 March 2023, by

Education and healthcare are set for a high-tech boost

The enhancement of human-machine interaction is expected to bring big improvements in support for learning and access to healthcare.
29 March 2023, by

Robot Talk Episode 42 – Thom Kirwan-Evans

In this week's episode of the Robot Talk podcast, host Claire Asher chatted to Thom Kirwan-Evans from Origami Labs all about computer vision, machine learning, and robots in industry.
25 March 2023, by

Resilient bug-sized robots keep flying even after wing damage

New repair techniques enable microscale robots to recover flight performance after suffering severe damage to the artificial muscles that power their wings.
23 March 2023, by

How drones for organ transportation are changing the healthcare industry

The healthcare drone industry has witnessed a dramatic surge in the last couple of years. In 2020, the market grew 30% and is expected to grow from $254 million in 2021 to $1,5 billion in 2028.
21 March 2023, by





©2021 - ROBOTS Association


 












©2021 - ROBOTS Association