Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Flexible Fabric Speakers Are Coming
A Korean research firm has announced that it has developed a technology for the mass production of sound speakers that are as flexible as fabric. "This product will cause revolutionary changes in how speakers will look in the future," said Koh Seok-geun, president of PNI. "It took four years of studies after we initially developed the technology to make it available for mass production."
The speakers are made with a kind of plastic that is studded with electrodes; PNI researchers used plasma on the electrodes to get them to stick to the plastic. Just cut out any size piece of the fabric and attach it to an amplifier with a wire - drape your new speaker over an object, hang them like curtains, or put them in a picture frame. You could even make a cheap suit coat for hawking your wares at trade shows.
This could provide the essential ingredient that is missing in talking tape. In his very cool novel Distraction, Bruce Sterling wrote about how talking tape, one of my favorite pieces of technovelgy, could help construct a building:
"I'm a cornerstone," the cinder block announced.
"Good for you," Oscar grunted.
However, Pimp My Ride enthusiasts should note that this miracle fabric speaker cannot be installed on the back seat of your hoopty for awesome bass sound. The speakers can only support sounds in the upper end of the register; it cannot emit the bass sound you need.
Read more at Scientists create flat speakers; thanks to Reg for the story.
Oscar peeled a strip of tape from a yellow spool and wrapped the tape around a cinder block. He swept a hand-scanner over the block, activating the tape...
(Read more about talking tape)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/1/2005)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 3 )
Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")
Solar-Powered Remote-Control Cockroaches!
'A cable, here, from the controller to the interface plug... wires from that to the brain.' - Thomas A. Easton, 1990.
SolarBotanic Tree For Solar Energy - Would You Need A Forest, Or Just One?
'The slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector...' - David Brin, 1990.
SolarXOne Solar-Powered Drone Flies (almost) Forever
'It's an Indian Air Force drone; its solar cells could power an entire farm.' - Interstellar.
Experts Decry Planet-Scale Schemes To Limit Global Heating
'Light from the sun hit those little spheres and bounced.' - Neal Stephenson, 2021.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Solar-Powered Remote-Control Cockroaches!
'A cable, here, from the controller to the interface plug... wires from that to the brain.'
SolarBotanic Tree For Solar Energy - Would You Need A Forest, Or Just One?
'The slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector...'
Metaverse Hardware - Run And Flail Like A Maniac, Or Lie Quietly?
'Holodeck 4 was waiting to be programmed...'
Robot Food Delivery Coming To Campus Near You
'... he rewired the delivery robot so that it would serve him midnight snacks.'
Are Craiyon Images Puddinged, ala Philip K. Dick?
'I stood in line for half an hour for this, and it's just a blob!'
Hip'Safe Airbag For Seniors, From Helite
'Other airbags go off around her torso and pelvis...'
Soulaje Self-Administered Euthanasia Wearable Prototype
'A young man... advanced with nervous strides along the gravel path which leads to the bronze doors of the Lethal Chamber.'
Midjourney AI Creates 'Théâtre D'opéra Spatial', Wins Art Fair First Prize
'... we'll give him in his brain what he needs for creation.'
Mobot Robot Tests Smartphone Apps With Its Finger
'Rapidly, purposefully, the metallic fingers moved over the key-boards...'
Space-Based Solar Power A Priority - European Space Agency
'...vast man-made disk of metal set spinning about the sun to supply the Earth with power.'
Goldilocks Zones Found On The Moon
Hopefully, there are no Mynocks in shadowed lunar craters, chewing on the power cables of spacecraft...
Robotic Surgeons Outperform Human Surgeons
'...the objects moving about so gently and putting their instruments away were not living beings, but robots.'
In Your Orchard, Do You Want Buzzing Suction Drones, OR Dick's Claw Hand Drones?
'Something that gleamed, shiny metal, gleamed and clicked as it turned toward her.'
Microbial Protein Production More Efficient Than Crops
'It's the food situation I'm worried about...'
The Sample Transfer Arm (STA), A Unique Mars Robot
'...a cranelike arm reached out. Grasping steel fingers fished around...'
CyberOne Robot By Xiaomi vs. Optimus Robot By Tesla
'I shall introduce myself... I am a robot.'
