Experience the sound vibrating as if it were alive!
Have you ever experienced "shaking the sound (speakers)"?
By listening to the device emitting sound as it gently sways, the user can feel the sound vibrating as if it were alive.
We invite you to come and experience how different the impression of sound can be when it is moving!
Floating Speaker was created by env. The members of env.are Junichi Kanabako, an instrument interface researcher, Tomohiro Harada, a sound space designer, and Haruki Nakamura, an engineer.
Concept of Floating Speaker
Floating Speaker was conceived during a discussion among “env.” members on the concept of sound. Considering sound as a phenomenon that arises perpetually from manifold places in countless numbers, we conceive sounds as one would dots in a painting. Humans have two ears, yet they can understand the location of sounds with only slight differences in the time they reach each ear, while humans can also imagine (recall) stories from the tonal qualities caused by overlapping sounds. This is the power of human imagination. Sound is always in flux, and it can move us and bring peace of mind. The musical devices and speakers we frequently encounter in daily life are, for the most part, used in a fixed position. We believe the Floating Speaker offers a new way to experience sound that can enrich our daily lives by allowing us to listen to an audio image that is constantly moving.
How to experience
When experiencing the Floating Speaker, the user gently touches the edge of the device and makes it sway to produce sound. By listening to the device emitting sound as it gently sways, the user can feel the sound vibrating as if it were alive. After this experience, the user will be able to grasp the origin and destination of the sounds they hear. We hope this experience will arouse an interest in sound, which we usually tend to overlook.
TDK Technology Contributing to the
Realization of Floating Speaker
A piezo speaker is a speaker that works based on the principle of vibration of the piezo element 1. A thin-film piezoelectric element called a piezo actuator is used to generate sound.
As one of the world's thinnest speakers (approximately 0.49 mm), PiezoListen can produce high sound pressure across a great range, no matter where it is installed, making it extremely versatile. PiezoListen speakers have an expansive range of possible applications, from TVs, tablets, laptops, wearables and smartphones, to VR headsets and touch panels on industrial devices.
In addition, PiezoListen works very well at the lower frequencies that have been considered a weakness for existing piezoelectric elements; it covers a wide range, from 400 Hz to 20,000 kHz.
※Piezoelectric (piezo) element: The phenomenon where voltages are generated in response to strains created by pressure applied to a material, such as crystals and certain ceramics, is called the piezoelectric effect. A piezoelectric (piezo) element refers to an electronic component that is used to harvest electricity by means of the piezoelectric effect, or, in reverse, to harvest vibration by applying a voltage