- Each Pixel OLED can also be a sound source
- No need for conventional speakers and no increase in thickness
- Could be used for screens, smartphones and helmets by car
For years, the television industry has thought of pixels: how to make them brighter, how to make them smaller, how to assemble them in the best possible way. And now there is a new push: how to make them ring.
As identified by Science Daily, researchers at the University of Sciences and Technology of Pohang (Postch for Short) created a 13 -inch OLED panel where each pixel emits a sound and in light.
And this technology could one day provide multichannel sound with incredible precision – without requiring speakers.
The pixels must be heard and seen
As Science Daily (Hat Tip to Notebookcheck) reports, the team called its invention “Local Sound Technology, based on pixels”. And as they explain, the problem with the audio TV is that it is really difficult to obtain a precise positional sound with conventional speakers.
“The central problem is that traditional excitators – the devices that vibrate to produce sound – are large and heavy, which makes it difficult to deploy several units without interference or compromising the thin design of the OLED,” say the researchers. “In addition, the sound diaphony between several speakers leads to a precise lack of control over the localized audio.”
Their solution was to incorporate piezo-electric excitations into the OLED display framework. “These piezore excitations, arranged in a similar way to pixels, convert electrical signals into sound vibrations without occupying the external space. Above all, they are entirely compatible with the thin shape factor of OLED panels.”
This allows each pixel to become an independent sound source, and the team says that they were able to completely eliminate the diaphony – therefore the sounds from different parts of the screen are not interfed.
Technology applications go beyond televisions. A suggestion is that car screens could send different audio to different people, for example by giving vocal directions to the pilot while the passenger listens to music. And in phones or helmets, the audio could change as the head, the hand or the device move.
According to Professor Su Seok Choi, “this technology has the potential to become a central characteristic of new generation devices, allowing elegant and light conceptions in smartphones, laptops and car screens – while offering an immersive and high fidelity audio.”
The bit “has the potential” is however the key: it is proof of concept, not a product – and there is a big difference between audio production and production excellent Audio. And of course, what works in a 13 -inch prototype can be much more difficult to make in larger sizes panels.
There is also the question of cost – so although the announcement is definitely exciting, I think that the best sound bars can still breathe easily for a few more years.
