Speaker Technology samples

In reflection of all materials used when sampling electromagnet coils for our space saving speaker concept, it is clear to see that the some materials are a lot more effective than others. Once we had found a circuit structure that worked with our audio jack to produce sound, when testing the materials we kept this a constant to eliminate any errors in the circuit. This circuit started with the connection of the ground wire and ended with the connection of both the channel 1 and channel 2 wires. 

Very initial samples were created using the BARE conductive paint. All samples using this medium were unsuccessful in generating sound. We are unsure as the why this was the result found. We thought that it may have had something to do with the connection of the wires and the paint on the paper but even when we used the copper conductive tape this made no difference to our findings.

Samples that used conductive thread were able to produce a very quiet sound. This could have been due to the size of the electromagnet created in some of the sample yet when also considering the aesthetics of our speaker; we felt that the tape would be most effective for our concept.

The copper conductive tape generated the loudest sound when sampling. The tape was very consistent as all experiments were successful in producing sound.

Samples also give evidence for the research surrounding the topology of the speaker electromagnets. The majority of our samples use the coil formation using the copper conductive tape as this was found to create the loudest sound. Experiments with parallel structure were able to produce sound get at a much smaller amplitude and volume than when coils were used. Samples that used the sparse structure did not produce any sound at all. As a result, through concept development we chose to continue to work with coil structures.

In development samples we discovered that the number of turns in the coils and therefore the size of the full electromagnet created meant that the sound produced could be louder and clearer. Towards the end of the project, we experimented with cone structures to see if these were able to amplify the sound. We were unable to complete enough samples to fully evaluate this and therefore this could be something that we could go on to develop further.

Primary Research

When sampling speaker designs, to fully understand the technology we met with a number of technicians, including Dr Francis Sweeney from the electronics department. With us we took an initial unsuccessful BARE conductive paint sample and the audio jack that we hoped to use. Here we spoke through our project intentions and queries as to why our samples were not working.

Dr Francis Sweeney first used a multimeter to test the audio jack we were using. From this we were able to establish the sections of the audio jack (pictured) and identity the three wires that came out when the plastic coating was removed.

The bronze wire was the ground, the Blue was Channel 1 and the Red was channel 2. These colours however were not the true colours of the wires as we had first thought. Each wire had a varnish coating surrounding it to ensure that the wires did not directly touch each other when inside the plastic coating. We were informed that this varnish would need to be scraped off at the end of the wires using a scalpel before attaching it to the electromagnet coil made for the speaker.

Dr Sweeney also spoke through a possible circuit diagram for a double-coiled structure (also pictured). This instruction directed us for later samples.

Future Technological Developments

Potential future developments with our speaker concepts will better their sustainability and make the product more suited to our outdoor camping and travelling market.

Send music through Bluetooth Technology

Bluetooth technology works by using a “technique called frequency hopping” of information and data from one device to another. This data is “divided into small pieces called packets”. The two devices, a “transmitter” and a “receiver” are able to “exchange” a single “data packet at one frequency”. They then “hop to another frequency to exchange another packet”. This process is repeated until all information has been “transmitted” and transferred. Devices can “hop between frequencies up to 1600 times per second”.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P, . (2004). Bluetooth wireless technology basics Retreived from http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00186949.pdf
Examples of existing speakers that use Bluetooth technology can be seen her in the images. Music on “MP3 players”, IPods and laptops can be transmitted to these “wireless speakers” to give “high-fidelity sound”. Bluetooth gives “flexibility” for the use of the speaker as no wires are needed, meaning that no plug-in power source will be needed, making the speakers suitable for the outdoor camping and travelling market.

Bluetooth (2013). Bluetooth wireless technology basics. Retrieved from http://www.bluetooth.com/Pages/Surrounded.aspx.

This newly developed project pairs our chosen material of paper and the idea of development through Bluetooth technology. A “flying paper airplane” is “smart phone controlled” via “Bluetooth” technology. The “battery-powered” plane still successfully flies due to the paper electronics remaining lightweight and therefore displays that it is possible to link the technology with a space saving device suitable for camping and travelling.

Prospero, M. (2014). LAPTOP. Retrieved from http://blog.laptopmag.com/bluetooth-paper-airplane-kit-is-ridiculously-awesome.

Solar Powered Paper Speakers

To use this Bluetooth technology, a battery would need to be incorporated into the speaker, however through solar powered technology, our speakers could become more sustainable, environmentally friendly and longer lasting without the need for additional cables and wires.

A company named Konarka has “developed a range of organic thin-film solar cell modules”. These films are “flexible” and can be attached to a number of materials to give an electronic “power source”. Such films could therefore be used on our speaker, pop-up designs. The solar cells are also available as a “translucent” film, meaning that our developed aesthetics of our speakers would not be compromised by this possible development.

JOHAN, . (2009). techfrsh.net. Retrieved from http://www.techfresh.net/thin-film-solar-cell-modules/.

Light Emitting Speakers

Light emitting paper and inks could allow the product to easy to use even when natural light is not available. Luminous paints that glow in the dark could be integrated into the paper pulp produced or mixed with the conductive powdered when making new conductive paint. The inclusion of LED lights into the speaker circuits produced could also offer another potential development, giving the product its own light source and therefore making it easier to use.

Speaker Art

“New Media student Jess Rowland” and “Research Director of UC Berkeley’s Center for New Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT)” Adrian Freed have investigated the “technical, design, and aesthetic possibilities of 2-D, flexible audio speaker technology”. Pieces produced present coils made from “machine-cut copper sheets”, “inkjet printing” and “electroless copper plating on paper” and “thin plastic”.

The image displays a focus on aesthetics, making the speakers pieces of art. This highlights a dual decorative and functional purpose to the product, giving quality to the electronic product. The repeated hexagonal pattern is simple yet links to an echoed sound. The start of the coiled circuit can be followed round as the pattern travels across the material to the end of the circuit. The copper colour stands away from the black surface, reflecting light and therefore introducing new patterns.

  

The paper speaker is an “acoustic drawing”. The piece name “Embryo” has been created from “copper foil” and “paper”. Areas of the work use both “spiral” and “parallel” topology structures, which combined allow for a really figurative image.

This speaker displays the possibility of using more “photographic material” within a circuit design. Here a “magnetic sheet” has been used with the copper foil, allowing the portrait to produce sound.

Rowland, J. (2012). CNMAT. Retrieved from http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/new_music/people/4752.

Topologies of Paper Speakers

When considering the aesthetics of our paper speakers, it is important to understand how the design of the coil will affect the sound being produced, and therefore the effectiveness of the speaker.

The majority of research found on paper speakers has used simple round coils, yet there are three main topologies of “circuit design” that can be used to “generate a magnetic field capable” of producing sound:

1.     SPIRAL: This formation is “most effective” yet only a single circuit can be produced. “Once the signal arrives at the end of the spiral, the only effective way to continue with any serial connection would be to break away from the plane, or break into the surface of the plane.”

2.     PARALLEL: This is an “open C like structure” unlike the “closed spiral loop” pattern. Multiple circuits can be made and connected together allowing for increased possibilities in terms of visual design.

3.     SPARSE: This is the “least effective” topology. The design is “either a spiral or parallel structure in disguise.” “Any kind of texture can be used to create such a structure by strategically breaking connections within the texture so that current will flow in a desired path.” The technology of the speaker is “completely hidden” and therefore the aesthetics that can be created are limitless. The “flow of current” however is very “inexact”, making the structure less effective than the other two.

The research shows increased possibilities in the development of visual design for our speaker products. It would be exciting to see through sampling with conductive paint, thread and tape, how far each structure can be pushed before it impacts on the sound that can be produced.

Rowland, J. (2012). CNMAT. Retrieved from http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/new_music/people/4752.